©The
World Botanical Associates Web Page
Prepared by Richard W. Spjut
April 2003, Comments and map, Oct. 2005, Sep 2012
Additions May 2017. Last updated Nov 2021, images of specimens
from the Southern Vizcaíno Desert transferred to
N. spatulata
Niebla and Vermilacinia (Ramalinaceae) from California and Baja
California.
Evolutionary history of coastal species
of fog lichen genera
Spjut R, Simon A, Guissard M, Magain N, Sérusiaux E.
2020. The fruticose genera in the Ramalinaceae (Ascomycota, Lecanoromycetes):
their diversity and evolutionary history. MycoKeys. 73: 1–68.
published online.
Evolution and diversification of Niebla Jorna J, J Linde, P Searle, A Jackson, M-E Nielsen, M Nate, N Saxton, F Grewe, M de los Angeles Herrera-Campos, R Spjut, H Wu, B Ho, S Leavitt, T Lumbsch. Species boundaries in the messy middle -- testing the hypothesis of micro-endemism in a recently diverged lineage of coastal fog desert lichen fungi. Ecology and Evolution. Published Online: 20 Dec 2021. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.8467 Additional Discussion: See: Introduction to Niebla and its phylogeography
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Niebla flabellata is a fruticose lichen widely distributed along the Pacific Coast of Baja California in BC (Spjut 1996) but not in BCS as reported here earlier. Specimens collected on the Vizcaíno Peninsula are here referred to N. spatulata species complex as a result of Spjut et al. (2020) that shows no DNA discrimination for three chemotypes that are commonly found near each other; yet, they belong to three cryptic species. Similar phenotypic thalli north of the peninsula are recognized as a separate species by having salazinic acid and relatively short and variously flattened branches arising in small tufts from a holdfast attached to small stones, rock walls of canyons, or along steep sides of large boulders. Above the thallus base, the branches become irregular in shape, varying from nearly linear to somewhat elliptical, or almost rotund, all of which appear with various lacerations, contortions and spine-like branchlets. The pycnidia appear less dense and less sharply defined from the cortical surface. Niebla flabellata (sensu spjut 1996) in the Northern Vizcaíno Desert is frequently encountered from Cañón San Fernando south to the Morro Santo Domingo. The most abundant occurrences were observed on lava along the beach areas between Guerrero Negro and Punta Santa Rosalillita, often as a pebble Niebla. In 1979, Spjut and Edson collected a 1 kg sample from Playa Altimar for cancer research; the voucher specimen was initially identified by Mason Hale, Desmazieria josecuervoi, the genus name later discovered by Rundel and Bowler (1978) to be illegitimate, the species N. flabellata (Spjut 1996) treated as a synonym of Niebla josecuervoi by Bowler and Marsh in the Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert. Niebla flabellata usually occurs with other lichens, particularly Vermilacinia paleoderma along beaches, and N. caespitosa on vertical rock walls in narrow canyons. Related salazinic acid species include Niebla josecuervoi, distinguished by sublinear-prismatic-cylindrical branches and N. effusa, identified by a more rigid thallus (thicker cortex) with branches terminally flattened and fringed, digitately arising in scorpioid fashion. Niebla limicola, similar in it irregularly widened branches, differs by the ± regular occurrence of short bifurcate acicular branchlets along primary branch margins below apex. The phenotypically related Niebla spatulata was distinguished by hypoprotocetaric acid, in substitution of salazinic acid, or rarely both acids may be present, or more rarely neither are present, thus, acid-deficient. As indicated above, this species is here recognized informally to include salazinic acid thalli. These various chemotypes, which often occur together, are not morphological distinguishable except perhaps for the acid deficient thalli that were identified in the field (for Spjut et al. 2020) by the cortex appearing to have stretch marks. They were collected on the Vizcaíno Peninsula, while the species also occurs on the southern part of Isla Cedros (Spjut 1996) Acid deficient thalli had been known only from Baja California Sur. Typical N. homaleoides (acid deficient), is characterized by ± linear branches with a polished cortex, occurring on ridges south of Punta Negra in Baja California. A thallus collected similar to N. spatulata was found at Arroyo Sauces, between Punta Canoas and Punta Blanco, W of Rancho San José. The type for N. flabellata was collected near Puerto San Andrés. In 1985, the track to the the former San Andrés Ranch did not reach the coast; it terminated just beyond the ranch. A sample collected for anti-HIV screening near Rancho San Andrés was difficult to separate morphologically from N. caespitosa, that is otherwise easily distinguished by its lichen substance of divaricatic acid. The type specimen (Spjut & Marin 9073H5) was selected from a mix sample of mostly N. caespitosa (Spjut & Marin 9073C, divaricatic acid) and N. flabellata but included also N. flagelliforma (Spjut & Marin 9073F, divaricatic acid) and the type for N. brachyura (Spjut & Marin 9073k, hypoprotocetraric acid). In 2016, only N. caespitosa was collected at the type location. However, a specimen collected a few km south near Punta Santa Rosalillita, in association with N. caespitosa and N. flagelliforma, appeared monophyletic in Spjut et al. (2020). In the narrowest sense, then, N. flabellata would appear supported by DNA phylogeny as a micro-endemic species, while the species as circumscribed by Spjut (1996) awaits further study. For more discussion and reference materials see Introduction to Niebla
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