Redingeria
Redingeria is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. Established in 2006 and named after the Austrian botanist Karl [Martin Redinger], the genus contains ten species that grow as bark-dwelling lichens in tropical forests worldwide. These lichens are distinguished by their script-like, elongated fruiting structures with thick black borders and are sensitive to forest disturbance, serving as indicators of undisturbed woodland habitats.
Taxonomy
The genus Redingeria was circumscribed in 2006 by Andreas Frisch, with Redingeria leiostoma assigned as the type species. The genus name honours Karl Martin Redinger, an Austrian botanist.Description
Redingeria develops a smooth, pale grey to yellow-olive crust seated directly on the bark and lacking a true. Its elongate, often slightly curved are 1–4 mm long, bordered by thick, charcoal-black walls so the script-like slits stand out sharply against the thallus. A colourless to pale brown lines the interior, while the hymenium is distinctly with minute oil droplets that give a cloudy aspect under the microscope. The thin-walled, Graphis-type asci hold eight hyaline ascospores that become markedly —partitioned by numerous transverse and a few longitudinal septa—yet remain iodine-negative and typically measure 30–70 × 8–15 μm. Secondary chemistry is moderate: many species produce stictic acid or norstictic acid, occasionally accompanied by trace protocetraric-series depsidones that tint the yellow-brown.The mix of fully carbonised lirellae, a clearly inspersed hymenium and large, I– muriform spores distinguishes Redingeria from superficially similar script lichens. Glyphis and Hemithecium share black margins but lack hymenial inspersion; Acanthothecis and Anomomorpha possess and often iodine-positive elements; whereas Kalbographa is set apart by its bright orange anthraquinone.