Archer, Phaeographis and Phaeographina 
473 
Thallus pale olive green, thin, corticolous, surface smooth and shiny. Lirellae 
conspicuous, numerous, scattered, sessile, greyish black, with conspicuous thalline 
margin, curved or sinuous, sometimes branched, 1-7 mm long, 0.7-0.9(-1.0) mm wide; 
proper exciple laterally carbonised, red-brown at the base; hymenium 200-250 pm tall; 
ascospores 1 per ascus, pale brown, elongate ellipsoid, 162-200 pm long, 30-40 pm 
wide, muriform (c. 20 x 5-6 locular). 
Chemistry: echinocarpic acid (major) and 4-O-methylechinocarpic acid 
[conechinocarpic acid] (minor). 
Also examined: Queensland: Cardwell Range, 46 km SE of Ravenshoe, Elix 16117 p.p, June 1984 
(CANB). 
Phaeographina echinocarpica is characterised by the large, pale brown ascospores, the 
conspicuous lirellae and the presence of echinocarpic acid. The carbonised proper 
exciple is covered with a thin thalline layer thus giving the lirellae a greyish black 
appearance. 
Echinocarpic acid is an uncommon benzyl ester distinguished from other esters of this 
type, such as alectorialic acid and barbatolic acid, by ester formation involving an 
ortho- rather than a meto-hydroxymethyl group in the B-ring (Elix et al. 1995). 
Previously echinocarpic acid had been reported only from the Parmeliaceae. 
The new species is distinguished from other species of Phaeographina with large 
ascospores, such as P. montagnei (v.d. Bosch) Miill. Arg. and P. muelleri (vide infra), by 
the presence of echinocarpic acid. 
The species is so far known only from the two specimens cited. 
Phaeographina muelleri A.W. Archer, sp. nov. (Fig. 3c, 4d) 
Synonym: Phaeographina caesiopruinosa (Fee) Miill. Arg. var. monospora Miill. Arg., Bull. 
Herb. Boissier 3: 322 (1895). 
Type: Queensland: Toowoomba, C. Hartmann s.n. (holo G). 
Thallus pale fawn, thin, corticolous, surface smooth and shiny; apothecia lirelliform, 
conspicuous, scattered, conspicuously sessile, open, with a conspicuous thalline 
margin, 1-2 mm long, 0.3-0.7 mm wide; proper exciple apically carbonised; 
hymenium 175-200 pm tall; disc black, white-pruinose; ascospores 1 per ascus, 
elongate-ellipsoid, pale brown, 145-180 pm long, 30-40 pm wide, densely muriform. 
Chemistry: no compounds found. 
Phaeographina muelleri is characterised by the conspicuous, open, apically carbonised 
lirellae, the large muriform ascospores and the absence of lichen compounds. It is 
distinct from other species of Phaeographina with large ascospores and lacking lichen 
compounds which occur in Australia such as P. montagnei (v.d. Bosch) Miill. Arg., 
which has a bright red epithecium and a completely carbonised proper exciple, and an 
unnamed species from Queensland which has closed lirellae and lacks a carbonised 
proper exciple. 
Phaeographina muelleri is so far known only from the type specimen. 
Phaeographina caesiopruinosa (Fee) Miill. Arg. (Miiller 1887a) is reported to be a 
common New World taxon with brown muriform ascospores, 4-8 per ascus, 45-120 x 
15-20 pm and lacking lichen compounds (Miiller 1894; Wirth & Hale 1978). Muller 
(1887a) reported the taxon to occur in Ceylon and Java but it was not listed by 
Leighton from Ceylon (Leighton 1869) nor from Indonesia by Redinger (1936) and in 
addition it was not reported from adjacent areas such as Japan (Nakarvishi 1966,1977) 
and the Philippines (Vainio 1920). The taxon was reported from Queensland by Shirley 
