First Record of Foliicolous Lichens from Mainland Korea: Candidate New Species of Fellhanera and Porina in a Wind-Hole Microhabitat

Foliicolous lichens are lichenized fungi that colonize living leaves and are typically distributed in tropical to subtropical regions under stable microclimatic conditions. In Korea, foliicolous lichens have so far been known only from subtropical coastal islands along the southern region, where they are largely represented by members of Strigulaceae. In this study, we report the occurrence of foliicolous lichens from a mainland locality in Jeonbuk Province, representing a notable expansion of their known distribution range. Two previously unrecorded foliicolous taxa, belonging to the genera Fellhanera and Porina, were discovered in a wind-hole site, a microhabitat with distinct vegetation from surrounding areas and locally stable microclimatic conditions. Phylogenetic analyses based on mtSSU sequences indicate that these taxa form distinct lineages from known species and are therefore considered candidate new species. This finding suggests that such microclimatic environments may facilitate the occurrence of foliicolous lichens in temperate inland regions where they have not been previously recorded.

[This study was supported by the Korea National Arboretum (KNA) (Grant No. KNA1-4-1-23-5) and Korea Basic Science Institute (National Research Facilities and Equipment Center) grant funded by the Ministry of Education (Grant No. 2023R1A6C101B022)]