Rinodina lecideopsis (Teloschistales, Physciaceae) a new endemic species from the central United States related to R. bischoffii

Rinodina lecideopsis is described as new to science. The species is characterized by the lecideine appearance of its apothecia due to the darkly pigmented cortex of the thalline margin and by a broad, hyaline proper exciple, which limits the algae to a narrow region at the base of the margin. The hymenium is densely inspersed with oil droplets and the spores are Bischoffii-type, both characters indicating a relationship with R. bischoffii. The new species belongs to a group of ecologically similar saxicolous lichens restricted to outcrops in tallgrass prairies, and glade openings in savannas and woodlands, fire-adapted ecosystems of the central United States. The biogeography and conservation needs of these lichens is briefly discussed.