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Pilocarps on Thuja roots?

  • 14 Feb 2026 10:01 AM
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    Message # 13598269
    Anonymous member

    Hi all,
    This last year I have seen (what I think is) Bysolloma on the dry sheltered roots of cedar tip up mounds(multiple individuals separated by site), same ecology that one can reliably find the green fuzz of Chaenotheca furfuracea. I have searched the literature and herbarium records for reports of this substrate but I am coming up blank, is this something novel, has anyone else seen this?
    https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/607101967/large.jpghttps://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/582359220/large.jpghttps://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/585860129/large.jpg

    Last modified: 15 Feb 2026 5:04 PM | Anonymous member
  • 15 Feb 2026 7:36 AM
    Quote
    Reply # 13598428 on 13598269
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    That kind of habitat is often occupied by Micarea species, some of which look similar to your photos. A thin section of the exciple (if any) would help to decide this. Many Micarea species have essentially no exciple, while in others it is fairly well developed; should be "byssoid" in Byssoloma.
  • 15 Feb 2026 7:53 AM
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    Reply # 13598434 on 13598269
    Anonymous member

    Thanks for pointing that out, I'll label them as pilocoarpaceae for now and look at the microscopy again and report back
  • 19 Feb 2026 7:01 PM
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    Reply # 13600247 on 13598269
    Anonymous member

    Gorgeous photos Deniz. I would like to see your apothecia cross-section on this so I can learn with you!!
  • 20 Feb 2026 3:08 PM
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    Reply # 13600564 on 13598269
    Anonymous member
    Here are some cross sections, I wasn't able to find any spores in this round. Would this be an example of no exciple? One thing that's confusing me is that when looking up photos of Micarea I'm not seeing that fuzzy white rim around the apothecia that is found on Byssoloma species. I added some better photos of it from our sample. We did also collect some tan apothecia on the same roots, which to me look more like Micarea.
    11 files
  • 21 Feb 2026 8:13 AM
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    Reply # 13600701 on 13598269
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Nice sections. This is a good mystery (to me anyway). The exciple does look byssoid, but the pigmentation in the cross section doesn't seem to match what is typical for the genus. There are some nice example illustrations here: Wang W-C, van den Boom P, Sangvichien E, Wei J-C. A molecular study of the lichen genus Byssoloma Trevisan (Pilocarpaceae) with descriptions of three new species from China. The Lichenologist. 2020;52(5):387-396. doi:10.1017/S0024282920000390

    In particular, I'm not seeing a brown hypothecium in your photos. It would be great to find spores or sequence this.
  • 03 Mar 2026 6:41 PM
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    Reply # 13604612 on 13598269
    Anonymous member

    A little update-


    Cross sectioned at least 5 more apo's in the last week, still no spores, maybe its a skill issue on our part.

    At this point I think I will preserve the rest of the collection for possible sequencing until I find more to collect(which I am hopeful since the collection from evergreen was the 2nd I had seen).


    Also anyone reading this please keep your eye out for this in suitable habitats and collect it if you see it and let me know.

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