''Pannaria formosana'' is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling),

squamulose A squamulose lichen is a lichen that is composed of small, often overlapping "scales" called squamules. If they are raised from the substrate and appear leafy, the lichen may appear to be a foliose lichen, but the underside does not have a "skin ...

(scaley) to

foliose Foliose lichen is one of the morphological classes of lichens, which are complex organisms that arise from the symbiotic relationship between fungi and a photosynthetic partner, typically algae. This partnership allows lichen to live in divers ...

(leafy) lichen in the family

Pannariaceae The Pannariaceae are a family of lichens in the order Peltigerales (suborder Collematineae). Species from this family have a widespread distribution, but are especially prevalent in southern temperate regions. Genera According to a recent (202 ...

. Found in eastern Asia, it was formally described as a new species in 2001 by the Norwegian lichenologist

Per Magnus Jørgensen Per Magnus Jørgensen (born 1944) is a Norwegian botanist and lichenologist, and Professor Emeritus of systematic botany at the University of Bergen. He is known for his work on the lichen families Pannariaceae and Collemataceae. Jørgensen w ...

. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

was collected in February, 1965 by

Syo Kurokawa Kashiwadani. was a noted Japanese lichenologist and 1994 recipient of the Acharius Medal. He studied under Mason HaleDePriest. and Yasuhiko Asahina. Eponyms Several lichen species have been named to honour Kurokawa. These eponyms include: ''Usne ...

from Chinsueiin Pass, (

Taitung Prefecture Taitung Prefecture () was a division of Taiwan Province, which was created after 1887 during Qing rule. The prefecture's seat of government, originally at ''Tsui-be'' (水尾; modern-day Ruisui, Hualien), was moved to ''Pi-lam'' (卑南; modern-da ...

, Taiwan). The lichen forms brown, circular patches up to about in diameter with up to 2 mm wide. These lobes have whitish, pruina-like secondary .

Apothecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mo ...

occur rarely in this species, and mature have not been found. The PD+ (orange) chemical

spot test Spot analysis, spot test analysis, or spot test is a chemical test, a simple and efficient technique where analytic assays are executed in only one, or a few drops, of a chemical solution, preferably in a great piece of filter paper, without using ...

reaction indicates the presence of

parietin Parietin is the predominant cortical pigment of lichens in the genus ''Caloplaca'', a secondary product of the lichen '' Xanthoria parietina'', and a pigment found in the roots of Curled Dock (''Rumex crispus''). It has an orangy-yellow color a ...

, a

lichen product Lichen products, also known as lichen substances, are organic compounds produced by a lichen. Specifically, they are secondary metabolites. Lichen products are represented in several different chemical classes, including terpenoids, orcinol de ...

. ''Pannaria formosana'' is found in the lowland forests of southern Taiwan and

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island ...

, Japan, although the author suggests a potentially wider distribution in the islands of Southeast Asia.

References

Pannariaceae Lichen species Lichens described in 2001 Lichens of Eastern Asia Taxa named by Per Magnus Jørgensen {{Peltigerales-stub