New records of Parmelia ernstiae and P . serrana ( Ascomycota , Parmeliaceae ) in Poland

The paper reports new localities of lichens Parmelia ernstiae and P. serrana in Poland. Both species are reported for the first time from the Polish part of the Sudety Mountains (southwestern part of the country). The new localities were found in the area of the Sowie Mountains (central part of the Sudety Mts) as well as Śnieżnik Massif and Bialskie Mountains (eastern part of the Sudety Mts). Most of the recorded specimens were associated with the bark of Acer platanoides and A. pseudoplatanus. Parmelia ernstiae and P. serrana are still poorly known species in Poland and often confused with similar taxon P. saxatilis. Therefore the morphological characteristics, chemical properties, ecology and distribution of these species are presented and briefly discussed.


Introduction
The genus Parmelia belongs to Parmeliaceae, the largest family of lichenized fungi [1,2].Generally, members of this genus are characterized by foliose, loosely to closely adnate thalli.Upper surface is grey, whitish grey to greyish brown, smooth to foveolate, sometimes pruinose, with white, linear pseudocyphellae.Lower surface is black with simple or branched rhizines.Soredia and/or isidia are developed on the upper surface in most species [3][4][5].In terms of chemistry, atranorin constitute the main cortical secondary metabolite.The species produce also salazinic, consalazinic, lobaric, protocetraric and galbanic acids as well as fatty acids (e.g., lichesterinic acid) in various combinations [3][4][5].
This paper bridge the gap in their distribution in Poland and presents new localities, which have been recently discovered in the Sudety Mts.Additionally notes about morphology, chemistry, distribution and habitat requirements of these species are also provided.

Material and methods
The present study is based on material which is available in Polish lichen herbaria: LOD, UGDA, WRSL and herb.Szczepańska.The morphology of the specimens were examined under a stereomicroscope for: color and structure (pruinoisity or epruinoisity) on the upper surface, shape of lobes, shape of rhizines, location of pseudocyphellae, shape and location of isidia.Brief descriptions of the species provided in this paper are based on personal observations.The lichen substances were examined by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) in solvent A and C; the methodology follows Orange et al. [25] and Kubiak and Kukwa [26].Localities of examined specimens are mapped according to the ATPOL grid square system [27], modified by Cieśliński and Fałtynowicz [28].Morphology.Parmelia ernstiae is distinguished by the strong pruniose upper surface, isidia and short, broad and not overlapping lobes.Pseudocyphellae are short, white, linear and narrow.In the central parts of the thalli cylindrical isidia are developed.Additionally, small lobulae are often present on the upper surface.Lower surface is black with simple rhizines (see also [4,5,29,30]).
Notes.Parmelia ernstiae is distinguished from morphologically similar taxa by the strong pruniose upper surface and isidia.Parmelia saxatilis is softly pruinose whereas P. serrana has epruinose upper surface.Parmelia ernstiae can be also easily separated from P. saxatilis and P. serrana based on the chemical properties of the species.It produces lobaric acid (absent in P. serrana) and the fatty acids (absent in P. saxatilis) [5,29,30].
Habitat requirements.Parmelia ernstiae is typically corticolous lichen.In the Sudety Mts it was found on the bark of deciduous trees: Acer pseudoplatanus and A. platanoides.

Distribution in Poland.
The species was reported firstly from the Drawskie Lakeland [9] and later from the Elbląska High Plain and the Sławieńska Plain [10].Eight localities of P. ernstiae in the Sudety Mts are presented in this paper.The localities are situated in the Sowie Mountains as well as in the Śnieżnik Massif and Bialskie Mountains (Fig. 1).Morphology.Parmelia serrana is distinguished by epruinose upper surface (occasionally the lobes are softly pruinose) with short, broad and sometimes overlapping lobes.White, linear or irregular pseudocyphellae are developed on the upper surface and also on the margins of lobes.Cylindrical isidia are concentrated along ridges of the thalli.Lower surface is black with simple or branched rhizines (see also [4,5,33]).

Specimens examined. Eb
Chemistry.The species is characterized by the production of atranorin, salazinic, consalazinic and protocetraric acids as well as fatty acids, e.g., lichesterinic and protolichesterinic.In examined material from Sudety Mts protocetraric, nephrosterinic and isonephrosterinic acids were not confirmed, probably due to their low quantity (see also [11,33]).
Notes.Parmelia serrana can be distinguished from P. ernstiae by epruinose upper surface and isidia concentrated to the ridges.The species can be also confused with P. saxatilis which has softly pruinose upper surface and sublinear lobes.Moreover, those three species are differ in terms of chemical properties.Parmelia serrana produces fatty acids (absent in P. saxatilis) and does not produce lobaric acid (present in P. saxatilis and P. ernstiae) [5,29,33].
Habitat requirements.Parmelia serrana is corticolous lichen and all specimens found in the Sudety Mts were growing on the bark of Acer pseudoplatanus and Fraxinus excelsior.General distribution.Parmelia serrana has been reported from Austria, Germany, Finland, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine [5,9,33,35].The species is known also from NW part of Russia and the Canary Islands [33,35].
Distribution in Poland.The species was known only from the southeastern and northern part of Poland until now [11] and six localities from southwestern Poland presented here are in addition to its distribution in the country (Fig. 2).