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Not Cresponea premnea but what?

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  • March 10, 2026 at 7:32 pm #33152
    aspeca
    Participant

      Mettingham, Suffolk, VC25/TM370904. From the trunk of an impressively large and possibly veteran walnut tree, towards the base. The tree was growing in the churchyard of an Orthodox church, which was built about 15 years ago in the garden of a big farmhouse-cum-country-house dating back to the 16th century. The spores recall Cresponea premnea, which seems impossible considering the agricultural and eutrophicated environs. But I’m struggling to fit them (or the external morphology) to the right lichen. Spores mainly 5-septate, fusiform with a fairly sharp taper at both ends, thick-walled, straight or occasionally somewhat curved, the right dimensions for C. premnea. Apothecia lecideine, some of them maybe pruinose, epithecium and hypothecium brown in K. I must be missing something obvious! Happy to have it pointed out. Many thanks for any suggestions.

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      March 11, 2026 at 10:20 am #46894
      Neil Sanderson
      Senior Moderator

        Just a thought, it looks very unhappy and some of the apothecia look as if they might be distorted poorly grown Alyxoria varia apothecia? there are also signs of a swollen central cell in the spores, which would also match Alyxoria varia but not Cresponea premnea, see https://italic.units.it/index.php?procedure=taxonpage&num=873” class=”bbcode_url”> https://italic.units.it/index.php?procedure=taxonpage&num=873. Both have green pruina on the disk.

        Neil

        March 11, 2026 at 11:17 am #46895
        aspeca
        Participant

          Many thanks for this, Neil — very helpful. That sounds like just the obvious thing I was missing. I’ll have a further look at the material with that in mind.

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