The new species Sticta viviana A. Suárez & Lücking is described from Colombian paramos. It superficially resembles S. fuliginosa s. str. but differs by the small lobes with a shiny surface, the strongly branched, corymbose isidia, the dark lower tomentum, the smaller, usually sessile and urceolate cyphellae with one papilla-like outgrowth per cell of the basal membrane, and the K+ orange-yellow medulla. In contrast, Sticta fuliginosa s. str., as represented by the type material, a sequenced topotype, and specimens from North America and Colombia falling into the same clade, is defined by an uneven lobe surface, simple to branched but not corymbose isidia, a pale lower tomentum, larger, immersed to erumpent cyphellae, with each cell of the basal membrane having 2–4 papillae, and a K− medulla. The new species is not closely related to S. fuliginosa s. str. but falls within a clade of several, as yet undescribed, species with S. fuliginosa gross morphology.

Niesslia echinoides Etayo, Flakus & Kukwa sp. nov. is described from Bolivia from the corticolous thallus of Erioderma barbellatum. The fungus is characterized by large ascospores usually breaking into halves within the asci, strongly setose and aggregated ascomata, usually simple setae, and no damage caused to the host thallus.

A new lichenicolous ascomycete, Arthonia diorygmae, is described from the thallus and ascomata of Diorygma junghuhnii. The new species is characterized by rounded to irregular, applanate to convex ascomata up to 0·3 mm in diameter, a slightly whitish pruinose disc, transversely 1-septate, hyaline to greyish ascospores (13–)14–15(–21)×5–7 µm, and its lichenicolous habitat. It is known from the subtropical region of the Western Ghats in India and appears to be widespread due to the large distribution of the host species.

As part of a comprehensive biodiversity inventory of Galapagos lichens, all species in two closely related genera, Cryptothecia and Herpothallon, are reviewed. Both genera are superficially similar, ecorticate, cottony-byssoid crusts and are unusual insofar as their asci do not develop in distinct ascomata, but instead within ascigerous areas or even solitary inside pseudisidia. Species of Herpothallon typically have an I− medulla and are covered in ecorticate pseudisidia; only a single species is known fertile. Cryptothecia is characterized by ascigerous areas with loosely aggregated asci. In some species the asci are isolated, but others have closely aggregated asci embedded in a hyphal matrix with some carbonization, perhaps indicating preliminary stages towards a development of true ascomata. Lirellate ascomata of the enigmatic, monotypic Helminthocarpon leprevostii show similarity with these ascigerous areas, especially of C. darwiniana and C. galapagoana, two species newly described here. Both also have similar asci and ascospores. As previously suggested, Helminthocarpon should thus not be included in Graphidaceae, but it belongs in Arthoniales, possibly in Arthoniaceae or Opegraphaceae. A key to all species and brief descriptions are provided. Two of the three Cryptothecia species and two of the seven Herpothallon species reported here are new to science. All records apart from Herpothallon rubrocinctum are new to Galapagos and Ecuador.

The terricolous lichen Peltigera wulingensis sp. nov. is described from Wuling Mountain, North China. It can be distinguished from other members of the P. rufescens group by its phyllidia along the margin or laminal cracks, scabrose upper surface, lobe extremities with tufts of tiny grey-whitish to pale brown hairs, and its slender, scattered and simple rhizines. Comparisons of the ITS sequences of the nuclear ribosomal DNA repeat tandem support the taxonomic distinctness of this species.

The following new species of pyrenocarpous lichens are described from Rondônia: Agonimia tenuiloba: corticolous, thallus with minute flabellate lobes developing goniocysts; ascomata smooth, grey, ellipsoidal; ascospores densely muriform, 30–50(–76)×20–35 µm. Anisomeridium lateriticum: saxicolous; conidiomata sessile, pyriform, ostiole with brown and hyaline septate setae; conidia simple to 1-septate, 8–11×2·0–2·5 µm. Anisomeridium triseptatum: corticolous, ascomata with lateral ostioles; ascospores (1–)3-septate, 25–30×7·5–10·0 µm, often with gelatinous appendages. Mycomicrothelia megaspora: ascospores ornamented, 1-septate, (27–)29–35(–40)×8–12 µm, often with a gelatinous layer 6–15 µm thick. Porina linearispora: corticolous; thallus green, shiny; ascomata immersed, 0·2–0·3 mm; ascospores filiform, (7–)9(–13)-septate, 75–90×1·5–2·0 µm. Porina maxispora: corticolous; thallus green, matt; ascomata immersed, 0·5–0·7 mm; ascospores filiform, (17–)23–35-septate, 95–110×4·5–5·5 µm. Porina novemseptatoides: saxicolous; thallus very thin, brown, glossy; ascomata superficial, 0·1–0·2 mm; ascospores fusiform, (7–)9-septate, 21–24×4·5–5·0 µm, with a c. 5 µm thick gelatinous layer. Porina termitophila: terricolous; thallus greyish green; ascomata emergent, 0·15–0·20 mm; ascospores fusiform, 1–3-septate, 13–15×2·5–3·0 µm. Pyrenula bispora: corticolous, thallus whitish, ascomata dispersed; hamathecium inspersed; ascospores 2 per ascus, muriform, 55–75×19–23 µm. Pyrenula leptaleoides: corticolous; thallus green to pale brown; ascomata deeply immersed in bark, with long necks fused in joint ostioles visible as brown dots on the surface; ascospores 23–27×8–11 µm, with rather angular lumina. Pyrenula rhomboidea: corticolous; thallus olive-brown; ascomata single, immersed; ascospores irregularly uniseriate, clavate-rhomboidal, 11–13×3·5–4·0 µm.

A key is provided to all species of pyrenocarpous lichens (except Trypetheliaceae) found in Rondônia. Nearly all species are new reports for Rondônia. Aspidothelium glabrum, Pyrenula leucotrypa and P. micheneri are newly reported for South America. The usually foliicolous Strigula nitidula is reported for the first time from bark.

The high lichen diversity is explained by the poor soils, supporting an only moderately dense forest where enough light can reach the tree trunks at ground level to support a rich flora of crustose lichens usually confined to the upper trunks.

The article explains the current structure of Körber's herbarium, located in the Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, Leiden (L). Originally, Körber's herbarium was composed of two separate collections. One part, Koerber Typenherbar, represents well-developed samples of each species, but they are in fact often fragments of specimens from the main collection (Koerber Stammherbar). Several examples are presented which demonstrate the relationship between both parts of the collection, various origins of specimens in the Koerber Typenherbar and their importance for lectotypification. Some specimens in Körber's herbarium were labelled only with an abbreviation or a symbol instead of a locality. All abbreviations/symbols with their explanations, kept in the Leiden herbarium archive, are listed here with information on the current names of the sampling localities in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The diversity of pendulous Usnea species in tropical South America (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela) and the Galapagos Islands is discussed with reference to 23 species. Usnea crenulata Truong & Clerc is newly described. Usnea articulata, U. deformis, U. dimorpha, U. geissleriana, U. merrillii, U. perhispidella, U. sanctaeritae, U. subflammea and U. transitoria are newly reported for South America. Modern descriptions are provided for Usnea amabilis, U. arthroclada, U. dodgei, U. humboldtii and U. regia. We propose to reject the synonymy of U. hesperina with U. schadenbergiana, and the valid name for U. hesperina is therefore U. subgracilis. Distinct patterns of unidentified triterpenoids have been detected by thin-layer chromatography and are used to characterize several species within this group. The morphology, branch anatomy, chemistry, ecology and distribution of each species are given, together with an identification key.

Two new species, Malmidea pallidoatlantica and Malmidea sulphureosorediata, are described from NE Brazil. The first is close to M. atlantica but differs by the hyaline or pale hypothecium. The second species is a bright golden yellow sorediate crust which is assigned to the genus Malmidea because it contains the same anthraquinone pigment as M. atlantica and M. pallidoatlantica. The three species together could be referred to as the Malmidea atlantica group. Both new species were found in Mata Atlântica fragments. Malmidea sulphureosorediata was found in the Serra da Jibóia, a mountain range with a maximum elevation of 800 m, in a transitional area between the Atlantic forest and Caatinga vegetation in Bahia State. Malmidea pallidoatlantica was found in Mata do Crasto, one of the most important Atlantic forest remnants in Sergipe. It is a well-preserved Mata Atlântica relict of c. 700 hectares, at sea level.

A taxonomic and biogeographic overview of the genus Myrionora is provided. Two species are recognized, M. albidula (Willey) R. C. Harris and M. pseudocyphellariae (Etayo) S. Ekman & Palice comb. nov. The genus is characterized by polysporous asci, the presence of crystals in the hymenium and proper exciple that partly consist of lobaric acid, and a photobiont with large cells (mostly in the range 12–20 µm). Myrionora albidula is currently known from Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Russian Federation (Altayskiy Kray, Chelyabinskaya Oblast', Khabarovskiy Kray and Zabaykal'skiy Kray), and the United States (Alaska, Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts). It inhabits bark of deciduous trees and shrubs and conifers over a wide range of latitudes. Myrionora pseudocyphellariae is known from Chile and Ecuador, where it has been encountered on lichens and decaying bark. Based on morphological characteristics, we conclude that Myrionora belongs in the Ramalinaceae.

Twenty-three species of Pyrenula from Latin America are treated here. Several species show characters that were not previously reported in the genus and are rare or new to lichenized fungi, viz. yellow, orange or red (KOH+ green) oil inspersion in the hymenium, yellow oil in young ascospores or longitudinal ridges on the ascospore wall. Two taxonomically significant types of over-mature spores are illustrated. The following new species are described: Pyrenula aggregataspistea Aptroot & M. Cáceres, P. aurantioinspersa Aptroot & Sipman, P. cornutispora Aptroot & M. Cáceres, P. flavoinspersa Aptroot & Sipman, P. guyanensis Sipman & Aptroot, P. infraleucotrypa Aptroot & M. Cáceres, P. inframamillana Aptroot & M. Cáceres, P. infrastroidea Aptroot & Sipman, P. maritima Sipman & Aptroot, P. mattickiana Sipman & Aptroot, P. minoides Aptroot & Sipman, P. monospora Aptroot & Sipman, P. paraminarum Aptroot & M. Cáceres, P. perfecta Aptroot & Sipman, P. plicata Sipman & Aptroot, P. rubroinspersa Aptroot & Sipman, P. rubronitidula Aptroot & M. Cáceres, P. rubrostigma Aptroot & M. Cáceres, P. tetraspora Aptroot & Sipman, P. triangularis Aptroot & Sipman, P. viridipyrgilla Aptroot & M. Cáceres. Pyrenula seminuda (Müll. Arg.) Sipman & Aptroot is a new combination.

The saxicolous species, Pertusaria weii Q. Ren (Pertusariaceae, Ascomycota) from China, is described as new to science. Diagnostic characters for the new species are a brownish, marginally unzoned thallus; numerous, solitary and lecanorate verrucae with heavily pruinose discs that are black; a strongly K+ violet epithecial reaction; 1-spored cylindrical asci with single, smooth-walled, untrimmed and ovoid spores; and, the presence of stictic acid. It grows on calcareous rock and is known only from the Tianshan Mountains in Western China.

Two new species in Leptogium are described and illustrated from the Cape Horn region: L. auriculatum and L. adnatum both grow on wet rocks, the former by a river, the latter on coastal rocks. In addition to the special habitat the latter is easily identified on the closely appressed thallus which centrally often have densely packed squamules in intricately folded structures. Leptogium auriculatum is characterized by the regular, rounded lobes with thickened margins carrying granular isidia. The total number of Leptogium species known in the region at present is 19, including the previously doubtful L. patagonicum Zahlbr., which is here confirmed as a distinct species.

Over the last decades, levels of sulphur deposition from air pollution have been substantially reduced in Norway, whereas levels of nitrogen deposition have been stable or somewhat increased. In parallel, a clear trend of increasing annual temperatures, as well as precipitation, is evident. Human impact on natural ecosystems is predicted to reduce biodiversity at regional scales through facilitating a few generalist species at the expense of species with narrow habitat requirements. In this study, we investigate changes in community composition and the abundance of dominant lichen species on birch in subalpine forests over a 15-year period. The study is based on repeated measurements in five monitoring sites in Norway, representing regional gradients in temperature and precipitation as well as in deposition of nitrogen and sulphur compounds. Two dominant species are studied in particular; the generalist Hypogymnia physodes and the subalpine birch specialist Melanelia olivacea. The largest change in species composition was found in the site with the biggest reduction in sulphur deposition during the 15-year period, whereas the site with low precipitation and low pollution loads had small changes in species composition. The abundance of the generalist H. physodes increased in all sites and the specialist M. olivacea decreased in abundance, especially in sites with both high precipitation and heavy nitrogen deposition. Our study thus suggests that a warmer, humid climate is beneficial for the generalist H. physodes.

The new lichenicolous Capronia paranectrioides Etayo, Flakus & Kukwa, inhabiting thalli of Erioderma leylandii, is described from Bolivia. The species is characterized by pale brown, submuriform and bicaudate ascospores, subglobose to barrel-shaped perithecia and I+ red, K/I+ pale blue hymenial gelatine. It is the first known Capronia species producing ascospores with long apical appendages.

Five new species of the genus Polymeridium are described from Brazil. All exhibit at least one character that was previously unknown in the genus: P. corticatum has a corticate thallus and 2 ascospores per ascus, P. immersum has the ascomata deeply immersed in the bark under the thallus, P. isohypocrellinum has a red, KOH+ green pigment (iso-hypocrellin) in the ostiole, P. julelloides has short and broad muriform (Julella-like) ascospores, and P. paraproponens has ascomata in groups of two to three. Brazil is clearly the centre of diversity of the genus. Iso-hypocrellin is a new substance for the genus.

The new lichen genus Sergipea M. Cáceres, Ertz & Aptroot is described in the Roccellaceae, based on the new species Sergipea aurata M. Cáceres, Ertz & Aptroot from NE Brazil. The species was found in a remnant of Atlantic transition forest in Sergipe. It is similar in many respects to species of the genus Enterographa, but it is characterized by bright orange stromata, due to the presence of an anthraquinone, and a thallus with a somewhat byssoid hypothallus. Phylogenetically it is close to the genera Dichosporidium and Erythrodecton. The phylogenetic position of the generic type of Dichosporidium confirms the close relationship of the genus to Erythrodecton in the basal branch of the Roccellaceae. A new species of Enterographa is also described from NE Brazil. Enterographa rotundata E. L. Lima, M. Cáceres & Aptroot has solitary, round apothecia, which is unusual in this genus with mainly elongated apothecia or punctiform apothecia arranged in lines. It was found in Caatinga forest in Pernambuco.

The vertical gradient of the community structure of epiphytic lichens in forest canopies was studied in southern Estonian coniferous forests. All lichen species on 15 Norway spruces and 15 Scots pines were recorded; age of trees ≥100 years. Species were sampled in height ranges on entire trees from the bottom to the top. The number of lichen species on pine trunks decreased with height from the ground, whereas the number of species on branches increased. There was no significant vertical change in the number of lichen species on spruce trunks; number of species on spruce branches was highest in mid canopy. The mean number of lichen species on a tree was 41 in spruces and 34 in pines; the mean number of species on the first 2 m was 14 in spruces and 12 in pines. According to the results, about two thirds of a tree's lichen species remain unrecorded if only the first 2 m near the ground are surveyed. Many lichen species were found only higher than 2 m, including several common species (e.g. Buellia griseovirens, Lecanora pulicaris, and Melanohalea exasperatula), but also some locally rather rare (Fellhanera subtilis, Micarea nitschkeana, Rinodina efflorescens) or red-listed ones (Evernia mesomorpha, Usnea barbata, U. fulvoreagens, U. substerilis, U. wasmuthii) and one new species for Estonia, Lecanora farinaria. There were also some species, such as Chaenotheca stemonea, Cladonia cenotea and C. norvegica, that were restricted to the lowest 2 m. The results indicate that canopy lichens form a significant part of lichen diversity in coniferous forests, and could add valuable information when estimating forest lichen diversity for conservation and other purposes.

Fellhanera crucitignorum, a blastidiate crustose lichen with anthraquinones and submuriform ascospores, is described as new to science. The species is associated with exposures of non-calcareous sandstones in Kansas and Oklahoma, in the southern portion of North America's Great Plains. The authraquinones are typically concentrated in the blastidia, creating a distinctive grey thallus with localized orange granules.

The new species Oropogon evernicus Essl. & S. Leavitt and O. protocetraricus S. Leavitt & Essl. are described from montane regions of Central America, further increasing the diversity of this genus in the New World. Oropogon evernicus is separated from O. americanus by the presence of medullary tissue directly beneath the pseudocyphellae, while O. protocetraricus is separated from O. caespitosus by the presence of protocetraric acid. The segregation of both species is confirmed by molecular sequence data (nuclear ITS, nuLSU, and β-tubulin). Both species appear to have split from their most recent common ancestor during the Miocene, supporting Miocene-dominated diversification of neotropical Oropogon species found in Central America.