Ramalina bajacalifornica, a New Species of Lichen from Baja California Author(s): Peter Bowler and Philip W. Rundel Source: The Bryologist, Vol. 75, No. 3 (Autumn, 1972), pp. 365-368 Published by: American Bryological and Lichenological Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3241479 Accessed: 22/06/2009 16:19 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=abls. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
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contain compounds such as perlatolic acid, anziaic acid (= 4-0-demethylperlatolic acid), planaic acid, and 2'-O-methylanziaic acid (Culberson & Hertel, 1972). This study was supported by grants GB-25346 and GB-27365 from the National Science Foundation and represents a portion of a general chemotaxonomic survey of the genus Pertusariaby one of us (M. J. D.). LITERATURE CITED
C. F. 1972. Improved conditions and new data for the identification of lichen products by a standardizedthin-layer chromatographicmethod. Jour. Chromatogr. (Manuscript submitted). & H. HERTEL. 1972. 2'-O-Methylanziaic acid, a new depside in Lecidea diducens
CULBERSON,
and Lecidea speirodes. THE BRYOLOGIST75: 372-376.
& H. KRISTINSSON. 1970. A standardized method for the identification of lichen products. Jour. Chromatogr.46: 85-93. KUROKAWA, S. & S. NAKANISHI. 1971. Lichens of the Hidaka Mountains, Hokkaido. Mem. Natl. Sci. Mus. (Tokyo) 4: 59-70. OSHIo, M. 1968. Taxonomical studies on the family Pertusariaceae of Japan. Jour. Sci. HiroshimaUniv., Ser. B, Div. 2(Bot.) 12: 81-163. SANTESSON,J. 1969. Chemical studies on lichens. Acta Univ. Upsaliensis, Abstr. Uppsala Diss. in Sci. 127. 28 pp. C. A. 1958a. Studies on the chemistry of lichens. Svensk. Kem. Tidskr. WACHTMEISTER, 70: 117-133. 1958b. Studies on the chemistry of lichens. XI. Structureof picrolichenic acid. Acta Chem. Scand. 12: 147-164. CHICITA F. CULBERSON AND MARTYN J. DIBBEN,
Department
of Botany,
Duke Uni-
versity, Durham, North Carolina 27706.
Ramalina bajacalifornica, A New Species of Lichen from Baja California Abstract. Ramalina bajacalifomica, from the Pacific coast of Baja California, is described as a new species. It is characterized by broad linear branches, laminal splitting, and subterminal lateral apothecia. It contains salazinic acid, usnic acid, and an unknown substance (?). While examining the Ramalina collection of the Herre Lichen Herbarium in the Los Angeles County Museum, we found a packet from San Benito Island labelled Ramalina stenospora Mull. Arg., determined by R. H. Howe. The four thalli comprising the collection possess a unique combination of morphological and chemical characters. Additional material of this new taxon has been found in the herbaria of the San Diego Natural History Museum, the University of California, and the U. S. National Museum. (FIG. 1) bajacalifornica Bowler and Rundel, sp. nov. Thallus caespitosus, usque ad 4 cm long., simpliciter ramosus, ramis linearibus compressis applanatisque. Rami, usque ad 4 mm lat., e basi lata 1.5 cm max. lat. digitaliter enascuntur. Cortices aequi, rigidi, leves, nitidique, rimas longitudinales velut strias albas manifestas praebentes. Thallus substrato patella basali affixus. Rami straminosi,medulla lata. Apothecia
Ramalina
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1. RamalinabaiacalifornicaBowler & Rundel. Holotype. Scale in mm. Photograph by B. Gassner. FIGURE
frequentia, subterminalia,laminalia, ad marginem, autem, praecipue orientia, per longitudinem ramorum extensa. Discus pallidus, marginatus, usque ad 3 mm diam., concavus. Sporae rectae aut paululum curvatae, 13-17 X 3.5At. Medulla K+ rubra, PD+ aurantiaca, acidum salizinicum,usnicumque,necnon unum ignotum continens (+). Thallus tufted, up to 4 cm in length, simply branching, the linear branches compressed and flattened. The branches, up to 4 mm wide, arise digitally from a broad base; maximum width 1.5 cm. Cortices uniform, rigid, smooth and shiny, displaying longitudinal cracks as obvious white striae. Attachment to substrate by a basal plate. Branches stramineous, medulla white. Apothecia common, subterminal, laminal but primarily marginally oriented, extending the length of the branches. Disk pale, marginate, up to 3 mm in diameter, concave. Spores straight or slightly curved, 13-17 x 3.5/,. Medulla K+ red, PD+ orange, containing salazinic acid, usnic acid, and + an unknown. Holotype: 1911 (LA).
MEXICO.
BAJA CALIFORNIA. SAN BENITO ISLAND: dead twigs,
Rose,
ADDITIONAL SPECIMENS STUDIED SAN BENITO ISLAND: West San Benito Island, on dead MEXICO. BAJA CALIFORNIA. Lycium, Moran 10746 (uc Irvine, SD). TERRITORIO DE SUR DE BAJA CALIFORNIA: Vicinity of
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FIGURE 2.Distribution Ramalina of baacalifor FIGUREm
2.
Distribution of Ramalina bajacalifornica
A, D, C, (LA,
SD, Uc,
us).
Semi-open circle is
probable locality (Howe, 1914). Penjamo, ca. lat. 24?24'N, long. 111?W, on Fouquieria diguetii, Noack & Carter 4448a (uc). MagdalenaIsland, Orcutt4528 (us). This plant differs from related species both morphologically and chemically. It is characterized morphologically by its broad linear branches, laminal splitting forming obvious white striations along the usually smooth and somewhat shiny surface, and the common subterminal apothecia which are primarily lateral but marginally situated. The thalli contain usnic acid, salazinic acid, and ? an unknown (TLC, Merck precoated SiO2-F254 glass plates, developed in benzene, dioxane, acetic acid, 90/25/4, v/v/v). They are easily distinguished from R. denticulata, the only other form of resemblance containing salazinic acid, by the narrow branches, bushy appearance, and larger more terminally situated apothecia of the latter. Ramalina complanata, present in northwestern Mexico, contains divaricatic and usnic acids in North America, and can also be separated from R. bajacalifornica by its dull, papillate surface with no laminal cracking. Ramalina leptocarpha has a rugose, membranaceous cortex, and can be chemically differentiated by its negative color tests. Howe (1914) reported R. stenospora from San Benito Island, but we have seen no specimens of this taxon from Baja California. It seems probable to us that this report is based on material of R. bajacalifornica. Howe's undated annotation of the holotype likely precedes his 1914 monograph, as these specimens were collected in 1911. Ramalina stenospora is much more abundantly branched than R. bajacalifornica. Chemical variations in R. bajacalifornica include the presence or absence of an unknown compound as determined by TLC. This unknown was present in all samples with the exception of the collection from Magdalena Island. Because only a small amount of material was available for extraction, mixed with a collection of R. ceruchis, it is possible that trace amounts of the unknown may not have been identified by TLC.
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THE BRYOLOGIST LITERATURE CITED
HOwE, R. H., JR. 1914. North American species of the genus Ramalina.-Part VII. THE BRYOLOGIST 17: 65-68. PETER BOWLER AND PHILIP
W. RUNDEL,
Department
of Population
and Environ-
mental Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 92664.
of Free Amino Qualitative and Quantitative Determination Acids in Parmelia wallichiana and Leptogium azureum Abstract. Qualitative and quantitative analysis by paper chromatography revealed 12 free amino acids in Parmelia wallichiana and 7 in Leptogium azureum. The substances contained in lichens have been extensively investigated for many years. But there have been relatively few studies on the amino acid composition of lichens. Recently Subramanian and Ramkrishnan (1967) in India, Solberg (1970) in Norway, and Fujikawa et al. (1970) in Japan have described the amino acid composition of 17, 35, and 75 lichen species respectively. The present paper gives an account of some free amino acids from two Indian lichen species, Parmelia wallichiana and Leptogium azureum. MATERIALS AND METHODS
The lichen materials were collected from Purandhar and Khandala (Maharashtra State) by the authors, cleansed of all extraneousplant material, and dried in an oven. Preliminarytreatments.-Alcohol extracts were prepared using 10 gm of oven-dried material of each species. The alcoholic extracts were treated with distilled water. Pigments and other compounds were removed from the aqueous alcohol solutions by 3-4 extractions with ether. The ether-washed water extracts of the two species were filtered through oven-dried animal charcoal to remove some additional impurities. The total volume of the water extract was reduced to increase the concentrationof the amino acids. Paper chromatography.-The qualitative analyses were carried out by two-dimensional descending paper chromatographyon Whatman No. 1 filter paper with n-butanol-acetic acidwater (4:1:1) followed by phenol-water (4:1). Chromatogramswere sprayed with 0.1% ninhydrin in 70% alcohol. The amino acids were identified by comparing Rf values of known amino acids, chromatogramsof which were run simultaneously. Colorimetricanalysis.-The spots of amino acids were cut out and eluted in 5 ml of 75% ethyl alcohol until the color dissolved completely. The quantity of each amino acid was calculated from the percentage transmissionmeasured with a spectronic 20 Bausch and Lomb colorimeter. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results are presented in Table 1. Parmelia wallichiana contains as many as 12 amino acids found in higher plants, but Leptogium azureum contains only 7 of these amino acids. It is interesting to
