Graphis maharashtrana
Graphis maharashtrana is a species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Described in 2011 from specimens collected in Maharashtra, India, this corticolous lichen forms a greyish-white crust on bark and is characterised by short, slit-like lirellae with a grooved, laterally blackened and ascospores. The species grows in dry deciduous forests and has been recorded from several districts across Maharashtra, where it has been found on the bark of mango trees.
Taxonomy
Graphis maharashtrana was described as new to science in 2011 by Gayatri Chitale, Urmila Makhija and Bharati O. Sharma, based on material collected in Maharashtra, India. The holotype was collected on 10 October 2000 in Sindhudurg district, along the road from Amboli to Ajra, and is deposited in the Ajrekar Mycological Herbarium. The species epithet refers to the state of Maharashtra.In the original description, G. maharashtrana was compared with Graphis panhalensis, which has a similar general appearance. G. maharashtrana differs in several features, including an that is blackened along the sides rather than mainly at the tip, smaller ascospores, and chemistry: it contains both stictic acid and constictic acid.
Description
The thallus forms a continuous, crust-like growth on bark, with much of it developing within the outer bark. It is greyish white to off-white, smooth to cracked, and is often edged by a thin black border.The fruiting bodies are short, up to 3 mm long and about 0.1 mm wide. They are simple or branched and usually sit mostly embedded in the thallus, with only a slight rise above the surface. The lirellae are irregularly curved and scattered; their colour ranges from thallus-coloured to black, and their ends are rounded to pointed. The exciple has 4–5 longitudinal grooves and is blackened along the sides. It narrows towards the top and is largely covered by a thick . Crystals are often visible on the surface. Under the microscope, the hymenium is clear and not, and is 34–46 μm tall. Each ascus contains eight spores. Ascospores are colourless and . They are fusiform to oblong and measure 25–42 × 13–17 μm. The spores stain violet in an iodine test, and no gelatinous sheath was observed. Chemical analysis using thin-layer chromatography detected stictic acid and constictic acid.