Fourteen species of Pseudocyphellaria having tomentose or pubescent lobe margins and scabrid-areolate, or ±tomentose upper surfaces occur in southern South America (including Juan Fernandez, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia) south of latitude 34°S. A key and details of the anatomy, chemistry, distribution, morphology and nomenclature of each species are given. Two main groupings are represented in this study: (1) taxa with a ±scabrid-areolate or pubescent upper surface, having sessile, laminal apothecia with a well-developed excipulum proprium (lacking photobiont cells) and containing colourless, acicularfusiform spores (P. compar, P. endochrysa, P. scabrosa and P. vaccind); (2) taxa with a ±tomentose upper surface, having mainly marginal, pedicellate apothecia, with a prominent excipulum thallinum (containing photobiont cells) and with yellowbrown to brown, ellipsoid spores (P. dubia, P. guillemini, P. hirsuta, P. mallota, P. obvoluta, P. pilosella, P. santessonii and P. subrubelld). Pseudocyphellaria piloselloides and P. pluvialis are not known fertile. Pseudocyphellaria pluvialis R. Sant., P. santessonii D. Galloway and P. scabrosa R. Sant., are newly described and a new combination, P. guillemini (Mont.) D. Galloway, is proposed.

The campylidia hypothesis, first introduced by Müller Argoviensis (1881) and recently restored by Vězda (1983), for the erect helmet-shaped structures found on foliicolous lichens and usually known as ‘ Pyrenotrichum ’ is adopted as being the most satisfactory. In the Badimia pollilensis aggregate, campylidia are shown to derive from primordia identical to those of the apothecia. In the genus Sporopodium, algal cells are included in the conidiogenous layer and are dispersed together with conidia. This also seems to be the case in the genus Loflammia. Short descriptions are given for the most common campylidium known as ‘ Pyrenotrichum splitgerben ’ and for another not yet assignable to a peculiar genus. Loflammia denwulinii sp. nov. is described from New Guinea.

An emended circumscription of the genus Paulia Fée is given and the morphology and anatomy of the eight included species analysed in detail. Four new species are described, P. gibbosa Henssen and P. rhizophora Henssen from Bermuda, P. tessellata Henssen from Bermuda and Mexico and P. stipitata Henssen from Puerto Rico. The new combination P. cubana (Tuck.) Henssen is made. The genus is characterized by an umbilicate thallus composed of reticulately arranged hyphae; apothecia without an excipulum, with branched paraphyses and thickwalled ascospores; and a member of the Chroococcales as phycobiont with brown gelatinous algal sheaths in which characteristic particles are deposited. The species differ in the external morphology of the thallus and apothecia. The species all grow on limestone, and most of them are confined to islands; the distribution of the genus is world-wide.

A new lichen genus, Rolfidium, in the family Bacidiaceae is described, with R. peltatum as type species. It is known only from one locality in Sri Lanka.

Observations have been made on the effects of different storage treatments, either 100°0 or 0°0 r.h., 12 h light:12h dark or 24 h dark for 2 days, on the ultrastructure of the phycobionts of Lobaria amplissima and Lasallia pustulata. After storage, Myrmecia, in the more desiccation-sensitive lichen L. amplissima, showed an increased number of cytoplasmic storage bodies which had more frequently dark contents and a half-moon-like appearance.Trebouxia, from the desiccation-resistant L. pustulata, showed major cellular disorganization when stored at 100°0 r.h. in the light:dark regime, whereas, in the dark, reorganization of thylakoids into a parallel arrangement occurred. Treatment at 0°0 r.h. in the light:dark regime induced an accumulation of starch around the pyrenoid of Trebouxia and, in the light:dark and dark regimes, a peripheral location of pyrenoglobuli without a decrease in the total volume of lipid material. The results are discussed in terms of the utilization and mobilization of reserve substances and the habitat preferences of the two lichens.

The value of primary chemical compounds correlated with known secondary chemistry and morphological variation within the Ramalina siliquosa group has been investigated. A hundred specimens were collected on two different occasions from 13 different populations on the Swedish west coast during April 1984. Protein extracts were prepared from 27 on secondary constituents identified and morphologically analysed populations. The protein bandings were performed by means of isoelectric focusing. Twenty-two different banding patterns were analysed since two were destroyed during preparation and three others yielded weak patterns. The results indicated that three different banding pattern types could be discerned: type A originated from material containing norstictic acid, stictic acid, norstictic acid in combination with stictic acid and on acid-deficient material; type B originated from material containing salazinic acid or salazinic acid in combination with protocetraric acid; and type C originated from material containing salazinic acid, protocetraric acid, salazinic acid in combination with protocetraric acid or on acid-deficient material. Material of banding type A belonged morphologically to R. cuspidata (Ach.) Nyl. and material of banding types B and C to R. siliquosa (Hudson) A. L. Smith. Seasonal and developmental factors can, however, affect the production of both primary and secondary constituents. Since there are no obvious morphological differences between the different chemical races within R. siliquosa s. str. and as material of salazinic acid in combination with protocetraric acid yielded both type B and type C banding patterns, the results do not support a taxonomy in the R. siliquosa group recognizing more than two species.

The nomenclature, chemistry, taxonomy, distribution and ecology of Aspicilia tuberculosa (Ach.) Laundon comb, nov., Buellia ocellata (Flotow) Körber, Pycnothelia papillaria Dufour, Rhizocarpon richardii (Lamy ex Nyl.) Zahlbr. and Rinodina aspersa (Borrer) Laundon comb. nov. are discussed. Aspicilia tuberculosa, related to A. caesiocinerea, has apparently not been collected since c. 1830 and may now be extinct. The name Buellia verruculosa has been wrongly applied and the species should be called B. ocellata. The name Pycnothelia papillaria is retained, but with a modified author citation. Rhizocarpon constrictum is a synonym of R. richardii. Rinodina fatiscens is shown to be a synonym of R. aspersa. The nomenclature of Aspicilia caesiocinerea and Rinodina atrocinerea is also considered, the latter requiring change of author citation.

Axenic, spore to spore resynthesis of Xanthoria parietina has been accomplished on an agar substrate.

Pannaria is shown to include species whose thallus ranges from the almost homoiomerous to the fully differentiated heteromerous state. A new species of Pannaria is described, P. santessonii, with a thallus closely resembling that characteristic of the Collemataceae. Lepidocollema carassense Vainio and Lepidoleptogium montaguei A. L. Sm., the type species of these respective genera, have beenfound to have a similar type of thallus. Further study of the relationship between thesegenera is needed.

Aspicilia excavata Thor & Timdal sp. nov. is described and reported from Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden. It is usually sterile and mainly characterized by an indeterminate thallus composed of small, white pruinose squamules excavated from the margin by dark brown to black soralia. The species grows on calcareous rocks and mortar, mainly on steep to overhanging faces.

An examination of the holotype or lectotype of eight taxa, first described from Australia, in the genus Cladonia has shown that the names are, with the exception of Cladonia fruticulosa Krempelh., synonyms of previously described taxa. The taxa examined were as follows (with the correct name in parentheses); C. cariosa var. diffissa F. Wilson (C. enantia Nyl.); C. conchata Nyl. (C. pyxidata (L.)Hoffm.); C. cornucopioides var. grandis Krempelh. (C. pleurola (Flörke) Schaerer); C. deformis var. tasmanica Krempelh. (C. subdigitata Nyl.); Cenomyce firma Laurer, Cladonia firma (Laurer) Krempelh. (C. murrayi W. Martin); C. lepidula Krempelh. (C. ochrochlora Flörke); C. pergracilis Krempelh. (C. ochrochlora Florke); C. subsquamosa var. pulverulenta Vainio (C. squamosula Müll. Arg.) Homosekikaic acid is reported to occur with thamnolic acid in C. squamosula Müll. Arg.

Five species of the lichen genus Haematomma Massal. s.l. (Ascomycotina, Lecanoraceae s.l.) are reported for New Zealand. Two new species H. alpinum and H. saxicola are described, and H. sorediatum is reported from New Zealand for the first time. Two other species, H. babingtonii, and H. hilare, are also reported. All five species appear to belong to the H. puniceutn group. Pseudoplacodiolic acid is reported in the genus Haematomma for the first time.

The new genus Edwardiella Henssen with the single species E. mirabilis Henssen is described in the Lichinaceae to include a holocarpous lichen. Colonies of the Gloeocapsa-phycobiont which are invaded by the fungal hyphae develop directly into apothecia or pycnidia. The apothecia are thallinocarps. The lichen was collected in the subantarctic Marion Island where it was mainly growing in lichenized tufts of Scytonema. Two new combinations, Gonohymenia nigritella (Lettau) Henssen and G. hondoana (Zahlbr.) Henssen are made.

Three new maritime saxicolous Ramalina species are described from Australia, R. litorea, R. whinrayii and R. caespitella N. Stevens spp. nov. The first species is tropical in occurrence, whereas the last two are temperate taxa and endemic to Australia.

Rhizocarpon (subgenus Phaeothallus) santessonii sp. nov. is described from Norway. The species grows immersed in the areolae of Tremolecia atrata when young and later develops autonomous areolae. The species is further characterized by a yellowish grey thallus containing an unidentified pigment, a non-amyloidmedulla, and 1-septate spores which are persistently colourless or become unevenly brownwith age.

Solorina simensis Hochst. ex Flotow differs from S. saccata (L.) Ach. in spore ornamentation and chemical properties as well as in its mainly plane apothecia and blue-green photobiont. It is here considered a distinct species. Solorina crocoides (Nyl.) Hue is briefly commented upon.

Nectriella santessonii sp. nov. (Hypocreales) on Anaptychia runcinata (With.) Laundon, is introduced for a species that previously has been confused with N. tincta (Fuckel) R. Sant. The two species are distinguished by several fundamental characters. The growth of single ascospores in pure culture has proved the connection between the new species and an Acremonium anamorph.

The lichen Caloplaca aurantia, when growing on concrete roof tiles, accumulates high concentrations of heavy metals. The uptake correlates with the ambient metal concentration. The results of lichen and substratum analyses of samples from a heavily polluted area indicate that the concentrations of metals in the lichen are many times higher than in the substratum. The relative content of the eight metals, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni and Cd was determined. The content of Fe, Cr, Ni and Cd was not significantly different in the various tile zones sampled. Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni and Cd were mainly taken up by the lichen directly from the atmosphere. The uptake of these metals from the tile is almost negligible. The maximum uptake of Pb by C. aurantia from the tile glaze was 10.95°° of the total amount in the lichen. The presence of the lichen on the tiles prevents the penetration of Pb, Zn and Mn into the substratum.