I have gotten a news release about some field work in Missouri's Ozarks done by researchers from The Nature Conservancy and NY Botanical Garden. Three new genera were named: Pachyphysis ozarkana, Pheobus Hydrophobious and Xyleborus sporodochifer. I think this is cool. However, I am not sure how to get a hold on the significance of the discovery. Are there lichenophiles who could educate me?
Sure, or part of it, anyway. I contacted Dr. Irwin Brodo, who has a new edition of "Lichens of North America." He lavished praise on Doug Ladd at The Nature Conservancy and Richard Harris, a researcher for the New York Botanical Garden, and said, "The North American lichen flora is still poorly known compared to that of Europe, and new discoveries and taxonomies are to be expected." I am starting to get a handle on lichens. I know I should just rewrite news releases for a native plant newsletter I work on, but the symbiotic relationship between lichens and algae is fascinating.
Yeah, lichens are pretty cool. I get the feeling it is more common to discover new genera of lichens than it is to discover new genera of vascular plants. Dr. Samuel Hammer, a lichenologist, has also discovered a few new genera, which would be a rare feat for any vascular plant taxonomist these days. Still, I think it should be celebrated, particularly as it illustrates that any assumption that North America has "been done" with respect to new species of organisms at the macroscopic level is faulty.
