Argüello et al. (2007) found that Parmelina quercina, as circumscribed by Hale (1976), comprised four phylogenetic species which could also be distinguished by morphological features and also had different distributions: P. carporrhizans (usually rhizinate apothecia, and distinct effigurate maculae; oceanic Europe and Macaronesia), P. coleae (usually rhizinate apothecia, narrow ascospores, and fenestrate maculae; North America), P. elixia (non-rhizinate apothecia, larger ascospores, smaller conidia, and not or faintly maculate; Australia), and P. quercina (apothecia rhizinate or not, and less distinct more rounded maculae; continental Europe).

A new species of Synarthonia, S. leproidica, is described from Luxembourg. Phylogenetic analyses of mtSSU and RPB2 sequences were used to determine the generic affiliation of this sterile species. Synarthonia leproidica differs from all other species of the genus by the combination of a leproid thallus and the production of psoromic acid. It is the sister species to S. muriformis in our phylogenetic analyses. The discovery of the new species suggests that other strictly sorediate lichen species might have been overlooked in Europe, even in intensely explored countries such as Luxembourg. Phylogenetic analyses further confirm the placement of Reichlingia anombrophila in the genus Reichlingia and of Synarthonia astroidestera in the genus Synarthonia. Arthonia atlantica is transferred to the genus Reichlingia as R. dendritica.

Porina rivalis Orange is described as new from rocks in streams in Great Britain. The involucrellum is yellow or orange within, but dark grey to purplish red at the surface; the ascospores are 3-septate, 13·0–18·5×4·0–5·5 μm.

Urban green spaces are indispensable for the conservation of biodiversity in Germany. In addition, the availability of green areas often provides citizens with the only opportunity to experience nature. Lichens are an important component of urban environments in terms of both species diversity, and ecosystem functions and services. However, they are rarely the subject of biodiversity education. To bolster awareness on their diversity and appreciation, a transformative biodiversity education in both the formal and informal sectors is necessary. This transformative biodiversity education should not only provide knowledge about species and habitats, but also on all dimensions of biodiversity, viz., the three levels of biodiversity, drivers of biodiversity loss, and ecosystem services. For this reason, the design of biodiversity education may be particularly challenging for educators and teachers. This paper shows how biodiversity education projects on urban lichens can be developed in accordance with the principles of transformative education, supporting nature experience, knowledge transfer (species knowledge in a broad sense and interdisciplinary aspects), participation and cooperation, as well as the use of digital media. Two best-case projects, tested in Germany, are presented as examples for the design and implementation of a transformative lichen education in urban areas. A similar approach can be easily applied in other education systems beyond national boundaries.

Lecanora paramerae is described from Central-East Spain. At the only two known localities it grows on Juniperus thurifera trees in the ‘Serranía de Cuenca’ mountains. It is chemically characterized by the presence of 2′-O-methylperlatolic acid in addition to atranorin and psoromic acid. Anatomically, it can be recognized by the presence of large and irregular crystals in the amphithecium, a pulicaris-type epihymenium and broadly ellipsoid ascospores.

The sensitivity of Hypogymnia physodes, Lobaria pulmonaria and Peltigera aphthosa to six photosystem II herbicides and to DBMIB was tested in the laboratory by chlorophyll fluorescence and oxygen-exchange measurements. In addition, experiments with freshly isolated photobiont cells from H. physodes and L. pulmonaria were performed. Generally, the lichens were most sensitive to the urea herbicides diuron and isoproturon, whereas the triazines atrazine, terbuthylazine, and simazine and the triazinone metamitron were less inhibitory. Among the three lichen species investigated, H. physodes was the most sensitive to the urea herbicides. For the other agents, no significant differences between lichen species could be found. The highest pI50 values obtained from dose response curves were around 6.5 for isolated photobionts, but most values for lichen thalli were in the range 5–6. Thus, there is no particular sensitivity of green algal lichen photobionts to photosystem II herbicides as compared to other algae, higher plant chloroplasts or protoplasts. In nature, we observed recovery from (damaging) treatment with 10−5 mol diuron 1−1 for H. physodes within weeks. Therefore, damage to lichens from the use of photosystem-II herbicides in agriculture is probably only of very local occurrence.

The lichen communities on 50 disused military airfields were surveyed. The habitats involve saxicolous communities growing on horizontal concrete and tarmac surfaces, and terricolous ones found on spreads of gritty soil. About 150 lichens were encountered. Some, such as Caloplaca crenulatella, had been seriously over-looked, others are local, for example Caloplaca ceracea, Leptogium britannicum, L. corniculatum, Peltigera neckeri and Phaeophyscia sciastra, while Staurothele frustulenta was the first correctly identified specimen from Britain. Tarmac surfaces in the north and west are characterized by rich assemblages of Parmelia s. lat. species and have affinities with communities occurring on basalt; tarmac ones in the east support an undescribed community; while terricolous communities have similarities with those present on sand dune. Fifty-year-old associations on concrete match two already described from limestone. Disused airfields represent a major overlooked lichen resource.

In the mid-1950s, two distinguished Italian researchers, the mycologist Raffaele Ciferri (1895–1965) and the phytosociologist Ruggero Tomaselli (1920–1982), decided that a separate system of naming lichen mycobionts independent of the intact thalli was necessary. In this they were stimulated by the pioneering studies of Thomas (1939) in particular, which showed how different cultured isolated mycobionts appeared from whole lichen thalli. Thomas had already introduced separate names, ending in the suffix “-myces”, and they determined to introduce a comprehensive suite of generic names for lichen mycobionts in a series of papers (Tomaselli & Ciferri 1952; Ciferri & Tomaselli 1953, 1954, 1957). The numbers of generic names coined and validly published with Latin diagnoses were substantial: 15 in 1952, 203 in 1953, and a further nine in 1954. They made proposals to change the provisions of the Code, which then already ruled that names given to lichens were to be regarded as applying to their fungal components, but these were defeated and never adopted; this rule remains in the Code in Art. 13.1 (Greuter et al. 2000).

Mature as well as juvenile stages of thalli and apothecia occurring on numerous meteorite fragments found on Ella Island can be referred to 10 genera of lichens: Acarospora, Candelariella, Gyalidea, Lecanora, Lecidea, Physcia, Pseudephebe, Polysporina, Rinodina and Xanlhoria. In their colonization phase these lichens are influenced by the mineralogy and chemistry of the meteorite fragments. Thus Xanlhoria shows a distinct preference for the meteorite minerals rich in iron, whereas Candelariella appears to avoid these minerals.