Strangospora senecionis
Strangospora senecionis is a species of lichen in the family Strangosporaceae. It is found in Africa, where it grows on the bark and wood of the native plant Dendrosenecio johnstonii. The species is distinguished primarily by its cylindrical spores, a characteristic feature within the genus Strangospora.
Taxonomy
Strangospora senecionis was described as a new species in 1979 by Jacques Lambinon and Antonín Vězda. The type specimen was collected from the Ruzizi Plain of the volcanic Mount Karisimbi in the Virunga Mountains, Kivu Province, Zaire, at an elevation of 3,550 metres above sea level. Strangospora senecionis grows on the bark and wood of old trunks of Dendrosenecio johnstonii ssp. refractisquamati, a giant groundsel plant native to parts of Africa.Description
The thallus of S. senecionis is or, extremely thin, whitish, and generally almost indistinct or invisible. Its apothecia are in form, varying in colour from livid to livid-brown, but most commonly appearing black and shiny. They are tightly constricted at the base, initially with a thin margin and somewhat flat, but quickly becoming hemispherical or somewhat spherical with an indistinct margin. They measure 0.4–0.7 mm in width.Microscopically, the is composed of radiating hyphae and is sooty black in colour. The is sooty black to blackish-brown on the inside and shows no reaction to potassium hydroxide solution. The hymenium is 50–60 μm tall with a sooty upper part.
The paraphyses are branched, with upper branches erect and, having thickened, dark-coloured tips. The asci are cylindrical-clavate with outer walls that are not gelatinous and contain multiple spores. The spores are simple, cylindrical, measuring 8–12 μm long and 2 μm thick. Pycnidia are, globose, black, with a dot-like opening. The pycnospores measure 3.3 μm long and 1 μm thick.