Study On The Lichen Genus Lecanora From Western China

Lecanora is classified into Lecanoraceae under Lecanorales, Ascomycetes, Ascomycota. The genus, which is worldwide, is the largest one in Lecanoraceae.The studies of Lecanora from Western China are performed, using the methods of morphology, anatomy, chemistry and geography, on the basis of identification of more than 1900 specimens from 10 provinces of Western China which are now deposited in Lichen section of Herbarium of Mycology, Academia Sinica (HMAS-L), Herbarium of Cryptogams, Kunming Institute of Botany, Academia Sinica (HKAS) and Lichen Section of Botanical Herbarium, Shandong Normal University (SDNU). 53 species are reported in this paper, of which 4 species new to science and 26 species new to China. New to science: L. gansuensis, L. pseudofimbriatula, L. prehensseniae and L. multispora. New to China: L. albella, L. argentea, L. cinereocarnea, L. cinereofusca, L. concilianda, L. dispersogranulata, L. fimbriatula, L. flavidofusca, L. flowersiana, L. garovaglii, L. hypocarpa, L. imshaugii, L. nipponica, L. novae-hollandiae, L. opiniconensis, L. pacifica, L. perplexa, L. phaedrophthalma, L. phaeocardia, L. sierrae, L. stramineoalbida, L. subrugosa, L. sulcata, L. symmicta, L. thysanophora and L. valesiaca.The geographical analysis of all 53 taxa reported from Western China shows that the following seven elements can be divided: Cosmopolitan element (3 taxa, accounting for 5.66 percent of the total species of Western China), North Temperate element (28 taxa, 52.83%), East Asian-North American disjunctive element (11 taxa, 20.75%), East Asian-Oceanian disjunctive element (3 taxa, 5.66%), East Asian element (5 taxa, 9.43%) and element endemic to China (4 taxa, 5.66%). The result of this analysis shows: 1) the main flora elements are North Temperate element and East Asian-North American disjunctive element, 2) the nature of the community flora is the obviously temperate zone.Species composition and local distribution of the lichen flora of Western China are reported for the first time. Each taxon of all 53 taxa presented in this thesis is described in detail and the related species are discussed. The key to all 53 species of Lecanora from Western China are also given.Twenty-two secondary metabolites are examined by color reaction test (CT) and Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC).The morphological photoes of the thalli of all 53 taxa presented in this thesis and ascospores picture of L. multispora are provided. This study enriches the distribution data of the the lichen genus Lecanora of China and also provides basic data for Flora Lichens Sinicarum.