A CONTRIBUTION TO THE PHYLOGENY AND TAXONOMY OF XANTHOPARMELIA (ASCOMYCOTA, PARMELIACEAE)

Abstract

  Various aspects of the lichen genus Xanthoparmelia have been investigated using ITS rDNA sequences. The delimitation of the genus and phylogeographic trends within the genus are reviewed. Three south African genera, Almbornia, Namakwa and Xanthomaculina, are synonymized with Xanthoparmelia. The transfer of Xanthoparmelia peruviensis to Psiloparmelia is strongly supported by a bootstrap analysis. Two new names are proposed, Xanthoparmelia aliphaticella and X. ovealmbornii, and four new combinations are made, Psiloparmelia peruviensis, Xanthoparmelia azaniensis, X. frondosa and X. hottentotta.