ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Which Ramalina species occur on the Azores? An approach using TLC and ITS barcoding sequences
1
Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum, Freie Universität, Königin-
Luise-Strasse 6-8, D-14195 Berlin, Germany
2
Arafura 16, NL-5691 JA Son, The Netherlands
3
Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of
the Azores, 9700-Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
Submission date: 2026-02-28
Acceptance date: 2026-06-29
Online publication date: 2026-07-31
Publication date: 2026-07-31
Plant and Fungal Systematics 2026; 71(1): 97-121
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The lichen genus Ramalina is well represented on the Azores islands, an isolated
archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. Fieldwork on several islands, loans from several
herbaria, and the collecting of fresh samples, allowed us to identify lichen substances by
TLC and to estimate the phylogenetic placement of taxa using ITS sequences from many
samples. This confirmed the presence of 13 species, including R. portuensis as new to the
Azores and new to Greece. Evidently the Ramalina biota of the Azores is considerably
different from that of the Canary Islands and Madeira, by the lower number of species and
by their affinities. A commented survey of all reported species, both accepted and rejected,
is provided, and an identification key is added.
FUNDING
The Verein der Freunde des Botanischen
Gartens und Botanischen Museums Berlin‑Dahlem is
gratefully acknowledged for their generous financial support
of the chemical TLC analyses.
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