Pertusaria huneckiana
Pertusaria huneckiana is a species of saxicolous, crustose lichen in the family Pertusariaceae. It is found in Mediterranean Europe.
Taxonomy
It was formally described as a new species in 1993 by Guido Benno Feige and H. Thorsten Lumbsch. The type specimen was collected from sandstone in the Balearic Islands. The species epithet huneckiana honours chemist and lichenologist Siegfried Huneck.Description
Pertusaria huneckiana has a thick thallus with a cracked- and texture. The thallus appears grey-greenish or yellow-green in colour and notably lacks both soredia and isidia.The species produces round apothecia measuring 1–3 mm in diameter. These reproductive structures are typically numerous and tightly arranged on the thallus surface. The margin of each apothecium is thick and smooth, matching the colour of the surrounding thallus. The is black, initially appearing as a small dot but later developing into an open structure reaching up to 1.5 mm in diameter.
The fungal component of this lichen produces ascospores within asci, typically with eight spores per ascus. These have a distinctive double and smooth wall structure and measure 70–100 by 30–50 μm.
Chemical spot testing shows that both the thallus and the margins of the apothecia are K+, C+, KC+, and P+. The is K+ and C+. The lichen contains thiophaninic acid and norstictic acid as its main secondary metabolites. Stictic acid is not detected when analyzed using thin-layer chromatography, which helps distinguish this species from similar Pertusaria species.