Gemmaspora, a new verrucarialean genus with remarkable ascospores for Adelococcus lecanorae growing on Aspicilia species in Syria and Turkey

The generic name Gemmaspora gen. nov. is introduced for the lichenicolous fungus originally described as Adelococcus lecanorae, a species previously known only from the type collection made in Syria in 1934, but which has now been recollected twice in Turkey. It is distinguished by perithecia that have a double wall layer in which the outer is hyaline and the inner brown, and by brown ascospores with two thick wall layers and an inner delicate distoseptum. A full description and illustrations are provided based mainly on the modern collections one of which is designated as an epitype for the name as no perithecia could now be found on the holotype. The genus is referred to Verrucariales on the basis of the structure of the ascomata and asci, and the new combination Gemmaspora lecanorae comb. nov. made. The holotype also supports Lichenostigma elongata and Muellerella lichenicola which may be the first reports of those two species from Syria.