Baidera is a single-species fungal genus in the family Roccellaceae. It contains the species Baidera mauritiana, a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen found in Mauritius. Both the genus and species were described as new to science in 2020 by Paul Diederich and . The genus name honours Cláudia Baider, curator of the Mauritius Herbarium.
Description
Baidera has a crustose thallus, meaning it forms a crust-like, thick, and compact growth on its without a (outer layer). The —the photosynthetic partner of the lichen—is , which refers to a type of green algae.
Ascomata (fruiting bodies) are , resembling elongated, narrow slits. These structures have a margin, meaning they have a black, edge. The hymenial , where spore development occurs, is pruinose, appearing frosted or powdery ( but not woolly (). The , the outer layer of the ascomata, is dark brown to carbonised, as is the , the supportive tissue beneath the spore-producing layer, extending down to the .
The hymenium, the spore-bearing tissue, turns pale blue when treated with potassium hydroxide and iodine (K/I+ reaction). The , filamentous support structures within the hymenium, are mostly but can sometimes branch, particularly in the upper region (), and end in a slightly enlarged apical cell. The asci, the sac-like structures where spores form, are narrowly club-shaped and exhibit a blue internal wall and a blue ring around a small ocular chamber when stained with K/I+, indicating the Abietina-type asci as described by Egea and Torrente in 1994.
The are hyaline (transparent), (spindle-shaped), and straight, lacking a distinct gelatinous sheath. Asexual reproductive structures called conidiomata are l, meaning they are flask-shaped. The conidiogenous cells, which produce asexual spores (conidia), are simple and straight, and the conidia themselves are hyaline and simple. Chemically, Baidera mauritiana contains psoromic acid, a secondary metabolite found in some lichens.
References