Jejulea byssolomoides gen. et sp. nov., a Remarkable Pilocarpaceae (Lichen-Forming Ascomycetes) from Jeju Island, South Korea

• Published in: Mycobiology Vol. 50; no. 3; pp. 172 - 180
• Main Authors: Halda, Josef P, Woo, Jung-Jae, Liu, Dong, Oh, Soon-Ok, Joshi, Yogesh, Hur, Jae-Seoun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: biodiversity; lichens; phylogeny; Pilocarpaceae; taxonomy
• ISSN: 1229-8093; 2092-9323

The new genus and species, Jejulea byssolomoides, is described from Jeju Island, Korea. This lichen is characterized by saxicolous, crustose, pale greenish-gray, partly finely filamentous, matt, smooth thallus, prominent convex brown to dark brown ascomata with a concolorous margin constricted at the dark brown base, 300-800 ㎛ diameter, 200-250 ㎛ high, without a distinct proper margin, adhering to the substratum ending in a minute byssoid white external part of cylindrical cells, fusiform 3-5 septate ascospores (17-23 × 4-5 ㎛). Phylogenetic analyses using ITS and mtSSU sequences place Jejulea in the Pilocarpaceae (Lecanorales). The new taxon is closely related to Byssoloma, a cosmopolitan group of foliicolous lichens, which is most diverse in the tropics. Like Byssoloma, Jejulea also forms a byssoid apothecial margin.