Lethariella sinensis
| Lethariella sinensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Parmeliaceae |
| Genus: | Lethariella |
| Species: | L. sinensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Lethariella sinensis J.C.Wei & Y.M.Jiang (1982)
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Lethariella sinensis is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.[2] It was formally described as a new species in 1982 by Chinese lichenologists Jiang-Chun Wei and Yu-Mei Jiang. The type specimen was collected from Qamdo (eastern Tibet) at an altitude of 4,300 m (14,100 ft); there, it was found growing on the branch of Thuja. It is an orange, long pendant lichen with a reticulate surface.[3] In 2001, Walter Obermayer showed that the holotype specimen of Lethariella sinensis comprised two chemically unique taxa: one with psoromic acid and the other with norstictic acid. The former was chosen as the lectotype, and as a consequence, Lethariella mieheana became synonymous with L. sinensis.[1]
Lethariella sinensis is one of three species of Lethariella that is used as a purported health-promoting tea in Yunnan, China.[4] Thin-layer chromatography analysis shows the presence of the following lichen products in the thallus: atranorin, canarione, psoromic acid, 2'-O-demethylpsoromic acid, and traces of gyrophoric acid.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Obermayer, Walter (2001). "On the identity of Lethariella sinensis Wei & Jiang, with new reports of Tibetan Lethariella species". In McCarthy, P.M.; Kantvilas, G.; Louwhoff, S.H.J.J. (eds.). Lichenological Contribution in Honour of Jack Elix. Bibliotheca Lichenologica. Vol. 78. Berlin & Stuttgart: J. Cramer in der Gebrüder Bornträger Verlagsbuchhandlung. pp. 321–326.
- ^ "Lethariella sinensis J.C.Wei & Y.M.Jiang". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ Wei, J.C.; Jiang, Y.M. (1982). "New materials for the lichen flora from Xizang". Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica. 20: 496–501.
- ^ Wang, Li-song; Narui, Takao; Harada, Hiroshi; Culberson, Chicita F.; Culberson, William Louis (2001). "Ethnic uses of lichens in Yunnan, China". The Bryologist. 104 (3): 345–349. doi:10.1639/0007-2745(2001)104[0345:EUOLIY]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 3244767.