Phylogeny and taxonomy of Polyozosia, Sedelnikovaea and Verseghya of the Lecanoraceae (Lecanorales, lichen-forming Ascomycota)
Authors: Kondratyuk S. Y. , Lőkös L. , Jang S.-H. , Hur J.-S. , Farkas E. 
Published: March 2019

From the combined phylogenetic analysis of multi-locus sequence data of the Lecanoraceae including two nuclear protein-coding markers (RPB2 and RPB1), the internal transcribed spacer and a fragment of the mitochondrial small subunit, found that the originally monotypic eastern Asian genus Verseghya is positioned within the Verseghya-Lecidella-Pyrrhospora clade of the Lecanoraceae and includes one more taxon Verseghya thysanophora widely distributed in Northern Hemisphere.

The genus Lecidella forming the Lecidella-Glaucomaria subclade within the same Verseghya-Lecidella-Pyrrhospora clade of the Lecanoraceae found to have tendency to be polyphyletic after including the recently described eastern Asian taxon Lecidella mandshurica into phylogenetic analysis of the Lecanoraceae. It is shown that Lecidella mandshurica was previously recorded from China sub Lecidella aff. elaeochroma.

The originally monotypic eastern Asian genus Sedelnikovaea forming a monophyletic branch within the Sedelnikovaea-Lecanoropsis subclade and being in out-position to the Rhizoplaca-Protoparmeliopsis s. str. clade of the Lecanoraceae found to include three more taxa, i.e. Sedelnikovaea marginalis, S. pseudogyrophorica, and S. subdiscrepans.

The Eurasian Protoparmeliopsis bolcana, and the eastern Asian P. kopachevskae, are illustrated for the first time as being positioned within the Protopameliopsis branch of the Lecanoraceae, while the South Korean ‘Protoparmeliopsis’ chejuensis found to be positioned in separate monophyletic branch from all other branches of the Rhizoplaca-Protoparmeliopsis s. l. clade of the Lecanoraceae.

The genus Polyozosia A. Massal. as earlier name for the former Myriolecis branch of the Lecanoraceae is accepted as far the type species of the latter genus, i.e. P. poliophaea, found to be positioned within this branch. The Polyozosia robust monophyletic branch is positioned in the outermost position in the Rhizoplaca-Protoparmeliopsis s. str. clade of the Lecanoraceae.

Position and species content of the accepted genera Glaucomaria, Lecanoropsis, Omphalodina, Polyozosia, and Straminella are discussed in separate nrITS and mtSSU, and combined phylogeny based on concatenated sequences of nrITS, mtSSU, RPB2 and RPB1 genes.

Fourty new combinations are proposed: Glaucomaria bicincta, G. carpinea, G. leptyrodes, G. lojkaeana, G. subcarpinea, G. sulphurea, G. swartzii, G. swartzii subsp. caulescens, G. swartzii subsp. nylanderi, Lecanoropsis anopta, L. macleanii, Omphalodina chrysoleuca, O. huashanensis, O. opiniconensis, O. phaedrophthalma, O. pseudistera, Palicella anakeestiicola, Polyozosia albescens, P. andrewii, P. contractula, P. crenulata, P. dispersa, P. hagenii, P. perpruinosa, P. populicola, P. pruinosa, P. reuteri, P. sambuci, P. semipallida, P. straminea, P. thuleana, Sedelnikovaea marginalis, S. pseudogyrophorica, S. subdiscrepans, Straminella bullata, S. burgaziae, S. conizaeoides, S. densa, S. maheui, S. varia, and Verseghya thysanophora. Validation of one name as Polyozosia perpruinosa Fröberg ex S. Y. Kondr. L. Lőkös et Farkas is also proposed.