Cladonia galindezii and C. andereggii, epodetiate relatives of C. cariosa in western North America

We expanded our knowledge of the Cladonia cariosa group by seeking out and sequencing squamulose epodetiate Cladonia specimens in western North America. Cladonia galindezii, a species in the Cladonia cariosa group with large squamules forming thick mats and often containing porphyrilic acid, as in the type specimen from Antarctica, was found in several western states, new to the United States. In the same clade were specimens with atranorin only or atranorin with norstictic acid. We also establish Cladonia andereggii as another species in the C. cariosa group, from Idaho and Washington, based on sequencing new specimens from near the type locality. Although C. andereggii resembles C. symphycarpa in having norstictic acid-containing medium-sized squamules, ITS sequences of C. andereggii showed that it is more closely related to C. cariosa than to C. symphycarpa. We also demonstrated chemical diversity in the remainder of the C. cariosa group in western North America, with five chemotypes, all with atranorin, most frequently with atranorin only, less frequently with porphyrilic acid, homosekikaic acid, norstictic acid, or fumarprotocetraric acid, some of these in combination with rangiformic acid. While C. andereggii consistently contained norstictic acid and atranorin, C. galindezii and the remainder of C. cariosa s.l. varied in major substances.