Endohyalina , the genus in the Physciaceae to accommodate the species of the Rinodina ericina -group

Abstract

The genus Endohyalina is characterized by crustose, autonomous, or obligately lichenicolous thalli, lecideine apothecia with a hymenium often more or less inspersed with oil droplets and a brown hypothecium, Bacidia-type asci, small Dirinaria-type ascospores developing with type B ontogeny, bacilliform conidia and containing diploicin as the major secondary metabolite. The genus is based on four species previously included in Rinodina-R. ericina s. lat., R. insularis, R. interjecta and R. kalbii-and on two lichenicolous species from the Canary Islands described here as new, Endohyalina brandii and E. diederichii. The generic type, Endohyalina rappii, is reduced to synonymy with E. ericina whereas E. circumpallida is excluded from the genus and returned to Buellia s. lat. Except for the thalline growth form and the common lichenicolous habit, the diagnostic characters of Endohyalina are akin to those of Diploicia. New chemical data on Endohyalina insularis and E. kalbii are reported, and a simple method for determining the secondary chemistry of lichenicolous fungi is provided.