Golden Soot Lichen

Appearance

Thallus: verrucose, well developed, variable in thickness, sometimes almost immersed surface: intensely yellowish green cortex: 14-15 µm thick, with numerous minute yellowish green crystals Apothecia: immersed in verrucae, epruinose, 0.5-0.8 mm in diam mazaedium: 0.3-0.5 mm in diam., black, epruinose exciple: uniformly thin, rim-like, thin throughout, 14-30(-40) µm thick laterally and not or only slightly thickened at the base, blackish brown, sclerotized, irregularly arranged and strongly intertwined hyphae with thickened walls hypothecium: 55-85 µm high, medium brown, with strongly intertwined hyphae asci: pyriform, 18-22 x 6-7 µm, rupturing at very early stages, with 2-3-seriate spores ascospores: brown, 1-septate and constricted in the middle, broadly ellipsoid, 17-21 x 9-11 µm; surface: smooth, without cracks Pycnidia: at first spherical to ellipsoid, 160-190 x 105-125 µm, later irregular and confluent with other pycnidia to leave incomplete walls deliminating aggregates of numerous loci; pycnidium aggregates: irregular, up to 0.4 mm wide, sometimes opening by a few longitudinal slits; wall: 9-12 µm thick, consisting of isodiametric or slightly elongated, moderately sclerotized, medium brown cells; in the uppermost part: cells spherical, 4-5 µm in diam. and heavily sclerotized, blackish brown; conidiophores: short, with few branches; basal cells: +isodiametric, 3-4 µm; conidiogenous cells: ellipsoid to short cylindrical, 2.5-4 x 1.5-2.5 µm, terminal and branched conidiophores also produced laterally conidia: non-septate, hyaline, ellipsoid, 3-4 x 1.5 µm Spot tests: thallus K-, C-, KC-, P- Secondary metabolites: thallus with rhizocarpic acid, epanorin and two unidentified metabolites.

Notes: Occasional specimens of Cyphelium tigillare with a pale thallus, lacking rhizocarpic acid, occurring at higher altitudes and latitudes, can be difficult to distinguish from

Naming

Cyphelium tigillare (Ach.) Ach.
Calicium tigillare (Ach.) Pers.
Acolium tigillare (Ach.) Gray
Acolium tigillare var. prominula Nyl.
Acolium tigillare var. tigillare (Ach.) Gray,
Lecidea tigillaris (Ach.) Ach.
Lichen tigillaris Ach., Patellaria tigillaris (Ach.) DC.
Trachylia tigillaris (Ach.) Fr.
Trachylia tigillaris var. notarisii (Tul.) Th. Fr.
Trachylia tigillaris var. prominulum Nyl.
Trachylia tigillaris var. tigillaris (Ach.) Fr.]

Distribution

World distribution: widely distributed in the boreal and temperate zones of Eurasia and North America.

Habitat

Substrate and ecology: on dry, weathered wood or rarely bark, especially of conifers (Pinus and Picea) or occasionally Betula, and post and rails in old forests