Three new species of Cladonia ( Cladoniaceae , Ascomycota ) from Southern Brazil

Cladonia maculata, C. paranaensis and C. quiririensis are described as new to science. These species were found between the altitudes of 900 to 1887 meters on the Serra do Mar Mountain in Southern Brazil.


INTRODUCTION
The Serra do Mar is a mountain range which extends, parallel to the Atlantic coastline, for about 1000 km from the states of Rio de Janeiro to Santa Catarina (Santos 2004).In the Southern Brazil, it comprises a chain of mountains with peaks higher than 1800 m of altitude in the state of Paraná.In the northern region of the state of Santa Catarina, it ceases to exist as a orographic unit and becomes a parallel strand of mountains and isolated hills (Almeida and Carneiro 1998).Even though the Cladonia P. Browne species are very abundant and diverse in environments above 900 m in the Serra do Mar in South Brazil, they are still poorly studied.The only references were made by Ahti (2000) and Charnei and Eliasaro (2013).During a survey on Cladoniaceae in this area, where 858 specimens were analyzed we discovered three new species of this genus.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The new species are described from specimens collected on soil or rock in high-altitude grassland vegetation between 900 to 1887 m on the Serra do Mar Mountain range in South Brazil (Figure 1).The geographic and climatic data from the study area are described in Charnei and Eliasaro (2013).
The specimens were examined using standard stereoscopic and light microscopic techniques.Sections of thalli and picnidia were mounted in water.Chemical constituents were identified by spot tests, under UV light (Taylor 1967(Taylor , 1968) and thin layer chromatography using C solvent system (Culberson andAmmann 1979, Elix andErnst-Russell 1993).Charnei,Eliasaro and Gumboski, MycoBank MB 807910 Differing from Cladonia secundana by the medulla of primary squamules and podetia with orange pigment, and by the podetia without stereome and with a surface markedly maculate.

ECOLOGY AND DISTRIBUTION
Cladonia maculata is known only from the type locality in the Pico da Serra do Tabuleiro, a region in the Southeast part of the state of Santa Catarina, where it is common and grows on the soil and on a thin layer of sediment on rock, in open and very exposed sites at 1250 m, commonly growing with Cladia aggregata (Sw.)Nylander (1876: 88).

REMARKS
Cladonia maculata is distinguished by the broad primary squamules, with orange (rarely white with orange spots) medulla, the podetia distinctly maculate (Figure 2B) without stereome and by the production of usnic and rhodocladonic acids.
Cladonia maculata is similar to C. secundana Nylander (1874: 71), a species that has chemotypes with usnic and rhodocladonic acids (Ahti 2000), by having a persistent primary thallus, consisting of lobed squamules and corticate podetia.However, C. secundana differ in having a completely white medulla, and podetia emaculate with a continuous to subcontinuous stereome (Stenroos 1989, Ahti 2000).These two species grow together in the Serra do Tabuleiro, where they can be easily differentiated by observing the podetial surface.
This species is clearly a member of Cladonia miniata group (Stenroos 1989) by the persistent primary thallus, consisting of broad squamules with thick cortex and by the red hymenial discs.Within this group, due to the color of the medulla and absence of stereome, C. maculata could be mistaken for C. miniata G. Meyer.(1825: 149) and C. salmonea S. Stenroos (1989: 255).However, in C. miniata the primary squamules have granules at the margins and a veined lower surface, the podetium is flabellate, poorly differentiated from primary squamules and also differs chemically since it lacks usnic acid (Ahti 2000).Cladonia salmonea has elongated squamules deeply divided into lobes, up to 5.0 cm long, which are greater than those found in C. maculata and the podetia, that are rarely produced, are very rudimentary and deformed with no more than 2.0 mm in height (Stenroos 1989, Ahti 2000), whereas in C. maculata they are frequent and taller.Furthermore, in these two species the surfaces of podetia are emaculate (Stenroos 1989, Ahti 2000).
Cladonia parvipes (Vain.)S. Stenroos (in Ahti 2000: 221), another member of Cladonia miniata group, can be distinguished by its squamules with granules at the margins, the podetial surface partially ecorticate and emaculate and by the absence of usnic acid (Ahti 2000).
Morphologically it is similar to C. cristatella Tuckerman (1858: 428), an endemic species of eastern North America (Hammer 2001), that differs by the presence of stereome (Vainio 1887) and by the production of barbatic and didymic acids (Moore 1968, Brodo et al. 2001).
Cladonia subminiata S. Stenroos (1989: 256) also possess a persistent primary thallus and produce usnic acid, but the medulla is entirely white and the podetia, which are rarely present, are strongly phyllopodial, smaller, with discontinuous cortex and with stereome.

ECOLOGY AND DISTRIBUTION
Cladonia paranaensis is currently known only from the type locality, Morro do Getúlio, in the northeast part of the state of Paraná, and this hill much of the slopes and almost all the top was burned in 2007, and is currently covered by herbaceous vegetation.It occurs on soil, in well illuminated and exposed places and isolated from other species of Cladonia.
However, Cladonia peziziformis has primary squamules rounded, nearly circular, thick (220-320 µm), with margins smooth to slightly crenate and with granules (Ahti 2000, Wang et al. 2008, Burgaz and Ahti 2009), whereas C. parananensis has lacerate to incised squamules, thin (100-150 µm) and very fragile (breaking easily when they are cut anatomically), with margins crenate without granules.These two species also differ in the podetial surface, in C. peziziformis it is corticate-areolate with longitudinal fissures that expose the central canal (as observed in the specimen G. Hatschbach 16428; MBM!), whereas in C. paranaensis it is ecorticate, entire, with no fissures or slits.
Cladonia solida differs from C. paranaensis in having corticate and solid podetia, rarely with hollow regions in the base as seen in the specimens occurring in the study area and similar to those reported by Vainio (1894), Ahti (2000) and Gumboski and Eliasaro (2012).
This species is, among the other species of Cladonia that occur in the Serra do Mar in South Brazil, the easiest Cladonia to identify due to its hymenial disks positioned laterally.

ETYMOLOGY
The epithet "quiririensis" is derived from the Tupi-Guarani language word quiriri (= silence, peace) and refers to type locality.

ECOLOGY AND DISTRIBUTION
Although collected in both states of Paraná and Santa Catarina, Cladonia quiririensis is a rare species that grows on soil, isolated from other species of Cladonia.

REMARKS
Cladonia quiririensis is characterized by the branched podetia with melanotic base and farinose soredia, entirely ecorticate, and by the secondary squamules situated mainly in the apical region and usually producing new podetia.
Morphologically C. quiririensis closely resembles C. polyscypha Ahti and L. Xavier (in Ahti et al. 1993: 61), but the latter species can be distinguished by the podetia simple to slightly branched, with apices mainly scyphose, with cortex at least in the basal region, sometimes the cortex reaching almost half of the podetia and by the secondary squamules scattered throughout the podetia (Ahti et al. 1993, Gumboski andEliasaro 2012).Cladonia macilentoides Ahti and Fleig (in Fleig et al. 1995: 14) could also be mistaken for C. quiririensis, since in both the podetia are ascyphose and sorediate, and C. macilentoides sometimes has a melanotic base (Fleig et al. 1995, Ahti 2000) as in C. quiririensis.However, C. macilentoides has a podetia mainly simple to dichotomously branched, hymenial disks red and contains thamnolic acid.In the field, C. macilentoides (e.g. A. M. Charnei et al. 105, UPCB) and C. quiririensis grow together and they can be differentiated by the more branched podetia and by the formation of new podetia from the secondary squamules in the latter (Figure 4B).