A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve, 1968. (Szeged, 1968)

Gallé, László: The xerothermic lichen species cladonia magyarica VAIN

The encrustement of podetia is branny, a little furrowed in spots. Their colour is whitish-grey, humidly green. From the sides of podetia and particulary from the rim of funnels several leaf-like squamae are rising, getting rolled round and thus showing their white lower surfaces outwards, having here and there rims with blackish rhizinae. The squamae are yellow with KOH, their taste is bitter showing that they contain fumarprotocetraric acid, like the podetia of the Cladonia pyxidata group with bitter taste generally do. The sizes of podetia, computed as an average value of 150 measurings, are: their mean length is (10)-16-17-(22) mm (typical form), resp. (6)-9-(ll) mm. (f. pocilliformis); their thickness is 2-4 mm; funnel diameter (3)-4-5-(8) mm (typical form), resp. (2)-3 mm (f. pocilliformis). On one occasion, at the f. verticillata, a 46 mm high funnel has been found. The lacings of podetia are (l,5)-2-2-(5) mm long and (0,5)—1—1,5—(2) mm broad. The abundantly foliose forms with long shoots and narrow funnels can be confounded with the forms of Cladonia degenerans f. phyllophora EHRH. It the single funnels have several squamae they resemble the form Cladonia chlorophaea f. pterygota. (3) The apothecia are light brown if young and in wet state, and they are brown in an older state, rising from the rim of funnels and often filling in the whole interior of the funnel. The spores are unicellular, colourless, elliptic, of a size of 12-14X3,5 microns, at one end a little sharpened, at their side mildly bulging. (4) The picnidia occur at the funnels closely side by side, they are sitting if young, with short pedicles if well-developed and then they are similar to small, undeveloped apothecia, being nearly spherical, in ripe state with a round opening above. In fully developed state they are of a size of 0,2-0,5 mm. Sometimes they appear on secondary thallus squamae or in the middle of the funnels, as well. The picnoconidia are of the size of 7-9 X

1 microns almost spindle-like, mostly a little bent. (b) Internal morphology Ot the basis of anatomical investigations, in the cross-section of the primary thallus an external crustaceous layer is taking place, with a subjacent zone of gonidia, and a hypha tissue underneath in the thickest layer. The gonidia, are arranged in nearly spherical groups, touching one another with their rims, thus the layer of gonidia is not thoroughly contiguous, resp. of equal thickness. The hyphae running betwee the gonidia are of thinner walls, sucking up and conveying the assimilata. The hyphae of medulla are thicker, on their surface lichen-acid crystals may be observed consisting of fumarprotocetraric acid. In the hypha tissue, here, there are smaller and bigger cavities, gaps that make spongy the tissue of medulla. Thus the thallus is capable of sucking up quickly the minimal quantity of dew of precipitation and, consequently, of increasing quickly in volume. The absorption of moisture on the lower surface of the lacings of thallus, pressed closely to the substratum, can be carried out the more easily because the lacings haven't any lower crust, and the spongy white medulla layer is sticking immediately to the surface of sand (cf. Table III. Fig. 1., 2.). 239