“Strangospora”
Crust lichens containing a trebouxioid alga; thallus thin and scurfy or immersed or otherwise not apparent; apothecia dark brown or black, with a thin, non-algal rim that recedes with maturity, the disc becoming high-convex; hymenium formed of branched and anastomosed paraphyses embedded in gel, olive blue or grey-brown in upper portions; asci clavate, with a thick tholus that reacts IKI+ dark blue except in a broad axial mass that extends up the entire length of the tholus and which is narrow at maturity, but so broad early in its development that the IKI+ parts of the tholus are pushed down the sides of the lumen apex; spores about 100 or more per ascus, colourless, globose.
| 1a. | Apothecia flat or low-convex, with a thin but distinct rim when young, somewhat translucent when wet …“Strangospora” deplanata |
| 1b. | Apothecia high-convex or spherical, rim essentially lacking, even when young, opaque when wet …“Strangospora” moriformis |
“Strangospora” deplanata (Almq.) Clauzade & Roux
Thallus areolate or verruculose, olive green or greyish brown, inconspicuous; apothecia dark reddish brown or blackish brown, with a thin, quickly receding rim; hymenium 30-40 µ high, medium to dark orangish brown or olive brown in the upper half, K+ olive green or bluish green; spores globose, 2-3.5 µ wide, 100-150 per ascus.
Reactions: Spot tests all negative.
Contents: No known lichen substances.
Habitat: Collected once on bark of large Pseudotsuga root in a forest/marsh edge at lower elevation.
Similar Species: Macroscopically similar to Strangospora pinicola, but with differently pigmented apothecia.
Specimens: Björk 17839.
Local Status: Rare.
“Strangospora” moriformis (Ach.) Stein
Thallus white, smooth or with a few granules, or (more often) immersed and inconspicuous; apothecia black, essentially lacking a rim, becoming high-convex or spherical; hymenium 40-55 µ high, medium to dark olive brown or green in upper portions, K+ olive-green or bluish-green; spores globose, 2-3.5 (‑4) µ, 100-200 or more per ascus.
Reactions: Spot tests all negative.
Contents: No known lichen substances.
Habitat: Common on rough bark of Populus trichocarpa and occasional on wood of snags and stumps, lower to middle elevations.
Similar Species: Dark-apotheciate forms of Lecania dubitans may appear similar and may grow in the same habitat, but brownish black rather than jet black, and there are always at least a few young apothecia present, with their thalline rim evident with magnification.
Specimens: Goffinet 3760; Björk 10809.
Local Status: Common.