Ocellularia diospyri
Ocellularia diospyri is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in northern Thailand. Taxonomy
The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2002 by lichenologists Natsurang Homchantara and Brian J. Coppins. The type specimen was collected from Ton Krabak Yai National Park (Tak Province) at an elevation of about ; here, in a mixed forest, it was found growing on the trunk of a Diospyros tree. This genus is alluded to in the specific epithet diospyri. The lichen is only known to occur at the type locality. Description
Ocellularia diospyri has a smooth, shiny, oliveaceous thallus with a thick cortex. The apothecia occur solitarily and are immersed in the medulla. They have a diameter of 0.6–0.65 mm, with a brown, fused exciple. The columella (the sterile central axis of the apothecia) is carbonized (blackened) and is visible from the small apothecial pore; it measures 0.08–0.2 mm in diameter. The ascospores are thin walled, spindle-shaped, and have from 12 to 23 locules (cavities); they typically measure 102.5–164.5 by
15.0–20.5 μm. This is unusually long for columellate species in the genus Ocellularia. O. diospyri contains the secondary compounds stictic acid and constictic acid. See also
 List of Ocellularia species

References

diospyri
Lichen species
Lichens described in 2002
Lichens of Thailand
Taxa named by Brian John Coppins
Taxa named by Natsurang Homchantara