This crustose lichen with dark, relatively high apothecia was originally described from southern Finland, growing on old fruiting bodies of the polypore Phellinus igniarius. Hence, the lichen species' name has been derived from the polypore's epithet. Scutula igniarii is an amphiboreal species, in Europe reported mainly from Fennoscandia. It usually grows on subneutral bark of deciduous trees in open forests. Its distribution in the Czech Republic is practically unknown. Published data are mostly historical, under the name B. abbrevians, which, however, might be used also for other, similar-looking taxa with dark fruiting bodies and shorter septate ascospores.
A careful revision of the herbaria materials is needed, as the species belongs to the taxonomically difficult group around the very variable S. circumspecta. Scutula igniarii contains similar green and purple pigments in the fruiting bodies, and often forms conspicuous pycnidia. In the past, the two species were mostly distinguished only by ascospores. However, extreme forms of S. circumspecta may resemble S. igniarii in the ascospore size. The two species are reliably distinguished rather by the anatomical structure of the fruiting bodies (Ekman 1996).
Literature: Ekman S. (1996): The corticolous and lignicolous species of Bacidia and Bacidina in North America. – Opera Botanica 127: 1–148.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Lecanorales → Ramalinaceae → Scutula
most frequented synonyms:Bacidia igniariiAll records: 0, confirmed 0. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).