Sporopodium Mont.
Type : Sporopodium leprieurii Mont.
Description : Thallus crustose, effuse, usually continuous, surface matt, without a cortex, the uppermost layer of thalline tissue composed of globose cells. Prothallus often well-developed in peripheral parts, formed of elongate, white or yellowish hyphae. Photobiont green, ?trebouxioid. Ascomata apothecia, sessile, rounded, lecideine. Exciple well-developed, paraplectenchymatous, surface smooth or uneven with somewhat protruding cells. Hymenium I+ dark blue. Epithecium containing green algae. Hamathecium of paraphyses, branched and somewhat anastomosing, apices not distinctly thickened. Asci thick-walled, 1-spored. Ascospores muriform, with numerous cells, colourless. Conidiomata campylidia, often abundant and regularly distributed over thallus. Conidiophores ±rectangular, supporting several conidiogenous cells in their upper parts. Conidia abundant, arising singly at apices of conidiogenous cells, pyriform to ±tear-shaped, colourless, simple to (1–)3-septate.
Sporopodium, formerly in the family Ectolechiaceae (Santesson 1952; Hafellner 1984; Eriksson et al. 2004; Pennycook & Galloway 2004), is now included in the Pilocarpaceae (Eriksson 2005). It is a tropical genus of c. 15 species worldwide (Lücking 2004c), of exclusively foliicolous lichens, best developed in Asia, Central America and the tropical Pacific (Santesson 1952; Lücking 1999a, 2004c). Chemistry in Sporopodium is discussed in Elix et al. (1992a, 1995a) and in Lücking & Lumbsch (2001). Sporopodium is distinguished from other genera in the Ectolechiaceae by the anatomy of the hymenium – with richly branched paraphyses and the occurrence of photobiont cells in the epithecium; by the structure of the thallus surface, consisting of globose cells; and campylidia producing simple or 1(–3)-septate pyriform to tear-shaped conidia (see Sérusiaux 1986: 19–23). One species is recorded from New Zealand.
