Crocynia microphyllina
Crocynia microphyllina is a corticolous crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It was formally described as a new species in 2011 by André Aptroot, based on a single collection from the Owen Stanley Range of Papua New Guinea at about 1,700 m elevation. It is known only from the type locality, which is primary tropical montane forest dominated by Lithocarpus.
Description
It forms a pale greenish-white, dull, thallus with a cottony surface, made up of small, scalloped that sit on a continuous black, cobweb-like that may spread across patches up to about 10 cm wide. The hypothallus filaments are around 2–3 micrometres thick and may be roughened by crystals. The thallus produces many ascending that arise from the edges of the areoles and are typically up to about 0.3 mm across and 0.2 mm high. These structures are pale like the thallus and contain tangled hyphae with abundant crystals. The photosynthetic partner is a alga with ellipsoid cells, while apothecia and pycnidia are unknown. Chemically, the species contains protocetraric acid. Although sterile, its byssoid thallus on an hypothallus and chlorococcoid algae support placement in Crocynia, and it was described as the first member of the genus reported with phyllidia.