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Ribosomal DNA and β-tubulin data do not support the separation of the lichens Usnea florida and U. subfloridana as distinct species

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2002

Kristina ARTICUS ,
Jan-Eric MATTSSON ,
Leif TIBELL ,
Martin GRUBE  and
Mats WEDIN
Kristina ARTICUS
Affiliation:
Department of Systematic Botany, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden.
Jan-Eric MATTSSON
Affiliation:
Museum of Evolution, Botany Section, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 16, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden.
Leif TIBELL
Affiliation:
Department of Systematic Botany, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden.
Martin GRUBE
Affiliation:
Institut für Botanik, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Holteigasse 6, A-8010 Graz, Austria.
Mats WEDIN
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. Present address: Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
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Abstract

The lichens Usnea florida and U. subfloridana have since long been recognised as distinct species. They show many similarities in morphology, but have different reproductive strategies. Usnea florida is always provided with many apothecia and produces no specialised asexual propagules. Usnea subfloridana has soralia, isidiomorphs and occasionally apothecia. Phylogenetic analyses based on continuous sequences of the ITS and LSU regions of the nuclear ribosomal DNA and the gene coding for β-tubulin, show that specimens of the two species form one monophyletic group of intermixed specimens, and not two groups corresponding to morphology, which would have been expected if two species were at hand. The ‘species pair’ concept in lichenology is discussed. Other Usnea species included in the study are: U. articulata, U. barbata, U. ceratina, U. filipendula, U. hirta, U. rigida and U. wasmuthii.

Type
Research Article
Information
Mycological Research , Volume 106 , Issue 4 , April 2002 , pp. 412 - 418
Copyright
© The British Mycological Society 2002

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