Multisporidea
Multisporidea is a small fungal genus in the Malmideaceae family and currently has only one known species, Multisporidea nitida. It is a corticolous lichen from Réunion Island, described in 2021 by Klaus Kalb and André Aptroot. The lichen grows on tree bark in a rainforest remnant at about 1,450 meters altitude (Cirque de Cilaos).
The thallus is a thin, dull crust, pale whitish to pale pink-brown and about 0.05–0.1 mm thick, sometimes with a narrow black fringe (hypothallus) up to 0.3 mm wide as it spreads. Its photosynthetic partner is a tiny green alga of the chlorococcoid group. Apothecia sit directly on the crust and look like small turrets, measuring 0.3–1.7 mm across. They have glossy chocolate-brown discs that start flat and become slightly domed, with darker rims that are often warty.
In cross-section, the excipulum and hypothecium are dark brown, and the hymenium is about 125 μm high with a faint brown tint. Each ascus contains a relatively large number of ascospores—16 to 32—unusually more than the typical eight, and the tip carries a small, tube-shaped, starch-positive structure that is characteristic of the family Malmideaceae. The spores are nearly spherical, colorless, 4–6 μm wide, and lack a gelatinous coating.
No asexual reproductive organs (pycnidia) or detectable lichen substances have been found, and standard chemical spot tests are negative. The species epithet nitida refers to the glossy apothecia, while the genus name alludes to the multi-spored asci.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 09:53 (CET).