Bulbothrix meizospora (Nyl.) Hale

Thallus subirregular laciniate to sublaciniate, dark dusky gray in the herbarium, up to 7.3 cm diam., subcoriaceous to submembranaceous, corticolous (rarely on rocks or soil); upper cortex 15.0−20.0 µm thick, algal layer 25.0−35.0 µm thick, medulla 85.0−110.0 µm thick, lower cortex 15.0−20.0 µm thick. Laciniae irregularly to almost anisotomically dichotomously branched, 1.6–6.1 mm wide, contiguous to slightly imbricate, becoming crowded at the center, ±adnate and adpressed, with flat to slightly involute, subrounded to subtruncate or rarelytruncate apices; margins flat to slightly involute, crenate to or irregular, entire, rarely sublacinulate; axils oval to irregular. Upper cortex smooth and continuous at younger parts, becoming rugose and irregularly cracked at older parts; laminal ciliary bulbs absent. Adventitious marginal lacinulae absent to scarce on older parts, short, 0.2–0.8 × ca. 0.1–0.3 mm, plane, simple; apices truncate; lower side concolorous with the lower marginal zone. Maculae weak, punctiform, laminal or in the amphithecium, usually common but hard to see on darkened specimens (such as the type). Cilia black, without or with simple or double apices, short and bent downwards, 0.05–0.30 (−0.60) × 0.03−0.05 mm, with semi-immerse to emerse bulbate bases 0.10–0.30 mm wide (these partially enlarged or occasionally absent), often withered and becoming reniform at the axils, scarce along the margins but more frequent at the crenae and axils, spaced 0.05−0.15 mm from each to occasionally contiguous, solitary or in small groups, becoming absent at the apices and adjacent parts of the laciniae. Soredia, Isidia and Pustulae absent. Medulla white. Lower cortex black, occasionally dark brown at the transition from the margins to the center, slightly shiny to opaque, smooth to rugose, moderately rhizinate. Marginal zone black and indistinct from the center to brown or dark brown and attenuate, 0.5−4.0 mm wide, opaque to slightly shiny, smooth to rugose, weakly papillate, scarcely rhizinate at the transition to the center. Rhizinae black, occasionally dark brown close to the margins, initially simple to rarely furcate, without basal or displaced bulbs, 0.10–0.40 (−0.70) × ca. 0.05 mm, usually frequent but varying from scarce to abundant at a few parts or near the margins, evenly distributed. Apothecia urceolate to concave or subconcave, partially becoming fissured and folded when old, adnate to subpedicelate, 0.8−6.2 mm diam., laminal to submarginal, ecoronate; margin smooth; amphitecia smooth becoming subrugose, without ornamentations. Disc light to dark brown, epruinose, imperforate; epithecium 10.0–20.0 µm high; hymenium 50.0−80.0 µm high; subhymenium 15.0−37.5 µm high. Ascospores ellipsoid to oval or rounded, (10.0−) 12.5−19.0 (−22.0) × (7.5−) 9.0−11.0 (−14.0) µm; epispore (0.5−) 1.0−1.5 µm. Pycnidia frequent, laminal to submarginal, immerse, with black ostioles. Conidia baciliform to weakly or distinctly bifusiform (4.0−) 5.0−9.0 × 0.75 µm. TLC/HPLC: cortical atranorin and chloroatranorin, medullary salazinic and consalazinic acids (see also Hale 1976).

Asia: India (Nylander 1860, Stirton 1878, Hale 1976a, Divakar and Upreti 2005), Pakistan (Hale 1976a), Nepal (Hale 1976a, Kurokawa 1993), and Thailand (Wolseley et al. 2002). Africa: Camarões (Hale 1976a), Kenya (Swinscow and Krog 1988), and Tanzania (Krog 2000). South America: Brazil - State of São Paulo (Marcelli 1993, Jungbluth 2006). Accordingly to Elix (1994), the species was erroneously cited for Australia (Knight 1882), and does not occur in that region. Here it is cited as new for Malawi.