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The new lichenicolous Capronia paranectrioides Etayo, Flakus & Kukwa, inhabiting thalli of Erioderma leylandii, is described from Bolivia. The species is characterized by pale brown, submuriform and bicaudate ascospores, subglobose to barrel-shaped perithecia and I+ red, K/I+ pale blue hymenial gelatine. It is the first known Capronia species producing ascospores with long apical appendages.

Niesslia echinoides Etayo, Flakus & Kukwa sp. nov. is described from Bolivia from the corticolous thallus of Erioderma barbellatum. The fungus is characterized by large ascospores usually breaking into halves within the asci, strongly setose and aggregated ascomata, usually simple setae, and no damage caused to the host thallus.

Erioderma mollissimum is a rare cyanolichen found on the foggy Atlantic coast of Canada. The rarity of E. mollissimum and the potential threat from human impact has led to conservation concern for this species in Canada. Recent finds on the island of Newfoundland suggest that the distribution of E. mollissimum may be wider than historically known. In order to better understand the environmental factors affecting distribution and to direct future search efforts a Mahalanobis predictive distribution model using a geographical information system (GIS) was developed for Atlantic Canada. The model suggests that only a small part of this region is suitable for E. mollissimum. This study provides an example of an alternative modeling technique to the traditional statistical methods for predicting lichen distribution.

Well-developed thalli of Erioderma mollissimum have been found on the island of Newfoundland. Previously reported collections from other areas of Atlantic Canada, and from high elevations in the southern Appalachians, were small and poorly developed. It had been suggested that these might represent a distinct, undescribed species. However, the morphology and chemistry of the collections reported here confirm the identity of the Newfoundland population as E. mollissimum.

The lichen genus Erioderma is shown to be particularly species-rich in Ecuador, especially in the upper cloud forest (3000–3400m). Altogether seventeen species are recorded of which the following are new: E. barbellatum, E. cyathophorum, E. divisum, E. gloriosum, E. papyraceum, E. pycnidiferum, E. sinuatum, most of which also occur in the neighbouring countries. Two further taxa from these are described as new: E. latilobatum from Bolivia and E. peruvianum from Peru and Bolivia.

The Azorean lichen previously and erroneously referred in the literature to Erioderma wnghtii, belongs to the complex, widespread species E. leylandii, and is escribed as subsp. azoricum, possibly representing a relic, ancestral form with a composite chemistry. It is presently only known from Pico where it is under threat owing to the destruction of the forests.

Two new species are described: Erioderma glabrum (from the Antillean region and Ecuador) and Parmeliella conopleoides(from Brazil, Venezuela, and Costa Rica). Both species are unusual in their respective genera. Erioderma glabrum is the only glabrous species in the genus Erioderma, with no obvious close relations, while P. conopleoides is a species of the Parmeliella pannosa group and the first species in this genus known to have gymnidia.

The map of the world-distribution of taxa in the genus Leioderma Nyl. (Galloway & Jørgensen 1987: 363, fig. 14), gives the impression that this genus has two species in Peninsular Malaysia, but when checking on the cited specimens there is only one recorded from that region, namely Leioderma sorediatum D. J. Galloway & P. M. Jørg. collected by Gunnar Degelius at Fraser's Hill in Pahang (UPS). However, when going through some herbarium material of the Pannariaceae from TNS, I found well-developed specimens of another species, Leioderma erythrocarpum (Delise ex Nyl.) D. J. Galloway & P. M. Jørg., collected in the Cameron Highlands [alt. 1500–1800 m, 9 viii 1973, K. Suigiyama (TNS)] in Pahang, verifying its presence in the forests of Peninsular Malaysia. This also confirms the special status of these lichenologically poorly known forests (see e.g. van Steenis 1962 on the montane forests of the Malaysian region), where amongst other things some of the most typical SE Asian species of Erioderma also occur, viz. E. phaeorhizum Vain. and E. tomentosum Hue (as well as E. sorediatum P. M. Jørg. & D. J. Galloway, see Jørgensen & Sipman 2002). The nearest previous records of L. erythrocarpum are from montane forests in Borneo and Java (Galloway & Jørgensen 1987: 383).

The depsidones hypophysciosporin (methyl 2-chloro-3,8-dihydroxy-1,4,6,9-tetramethyl-11-oxo-11H-dibenzo[ b,e ][1,4]dioxepin-7-carboxylate) (9) and 3-O-methylhypophysciosporin (methyl 2-chloro-8-hydroxy-3-methoxy-1,4,6,9-tetra-11-oxo-11H-dibenzo[ b,e ][1,4]dioxepin-7-carboxylate)(10) have been isolated from the lichen Erioderma phaeorhizum and the structures of these metabolites have been established by comparison with synthetic material. In addition the chroman, vitamin E acetate (14), has been isolated from Erioderma tomentosum, the first reported occurrence of this compound in a lichen.

The structure of wrightiin, a depside metabolite of Erioderm a wrightii is shown by X-ray crystalo-graphy to be 2. The mass spectrum is anomalous.

For the three species of Erioderma occurring in North America (E. mollissimum (Samp.) Du Rietz, E. pedicellatum (Hue) P. M. Jorg. and E. sorediatun D. Gall. & P. M. Jorg), considerable range extensions are being reported together with ecological information that will help to understand the distribution of these lichens. Erioderma sorediatum has been recently discovered in North America by Sherwood and Pike (unpubl.), while E. mollissimum and E. pedicellatum are reported as new to Nova Scotia herein along with a number of new localities for the latter species in Newfoundland. Ongoing work on E. pedicellatum and its symbionts has been summarized and an attempt has been made to outline its possible postglacial history. It is postulated that the presently known ranges have been occupied by the lichen only within the past few thousand years (more recently in Europe than in North America), and that considerable migrations must have taken place prior to that. This is NRCC publication No. 20463.

The new lichen depsides, methyl 5-chloronorobtusatate (4) and 4-O-demethyldiffractaic acid (5), have been detected in an Erioderma sp. And Xanthoparmelia duplicata Hale respectively, and the structures confirmed by total synthesis. In addition, the lichen depsides, 2'-O- methylatranorin (1), 2-O-methylsquamatic acid (2) and elatinic acid (3), have been prepared by unambiguous synthesis for the first time.

The structure of eriodermin, a depsidone from the lichen Erioderma physcioides , has been established as 4-formyl-2,7-dichloro-3-hydroxy-8-methoxy- 1,6-dimethyldi-benzo[b,e][1,4]dioxepin-11-one by X-ray analysis.

The depsidones norpannarin (4) and norargopsin (5) have been prepared by unambiguous synthesis and shown to co-occur with nordechloropannarin (7), pannarin (3) and argopsin (2) in Erioderma chilense.

The new depsides 3-chlorostenosporic acid (2), 3-chloroperlatolic acid (3) and subsphaeric acid (24) have been detected in Dimelaena lichens and the structures of the metabolites have been established by unambiguous synthesis. Wrightiin (methyl 3-chloroevernate) (21), a depside from Erioderma wrightii, has also been synthesized by using similar methodology.

A chemosyndrome of para- depsides based on methyl 4-O-demethylbarbatate (3) has been detected in Erioderma lichens and the structures of the metabolites have been established by unambiguous syntheses. New depsides include methyl 5-chloro-4-O-demethylbarbatate (4), methyl eriodermate (5), methyl 2'-0-methyleriodermate (6), methyl 2-O-methyleriodermate (7), methyl 4-O-methyleriodermate (8) and methyl 2,2'-di-O-methyleriodermate (9).