A taxonomic revision of crustose caliciod lichens and fungi occurring in the cool and temperate areas of South America comprising 47 species in 7 genera is presented. Most of the species are lichenized, have passive spore dispersal, and belong to Acroscyphus, Calicium and Cyphelium in Caliciaceae and Chaenotheca in Coniocybaceae. Species in Mycocaliciaceae, included in Chaenothecopsis, Mycocalicium and Phaeocalicium are also frequent. They are parasites or saprobes on vasculaI plants and algae, or comrnensalistic on lichens. A few species of Microcalicium in Microcaliciaceae also occur. These lichens and fungi have previously been very neglected in the area. Calicium isabellinum, Chaenotheca australis, C. confusa, Chaenothecopsis arthoniae, C. australis, C. cinerea, C. lecanactidis, Mycocalicium anomalum and Phaeocalicium fuegensis are described as new. Eleven further species are new to South America, and several species are new to Argentina and Chile. Most of the species occur in oldgrowth Nothofagus forests, and are like in other areas sensitive to forest exploitation. A high proportion of the species (74%) also occur in the Northern hemjsphere, only three (6%) species are austral, and eight (17%) are endemic.

The seemingly elaborate nature of this title reflects the change in the treatment of the calicioid fungi: previously, all were considered to belong to one order, the Caliciales. This is now revealed to be polyphyletic and the remarkable morphological similarities of the mazaediate "pin-lichens" to be the product of convergent evolution. The author is the acknowledged expert on calicioid lichens and, although the account is regional, due to the wide distribution of the species it is also of significance for the northern temperate regions. The area covered is essentially southern Chile and adjacent Argentina but the emphasis is on Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia where these lichenized fungi are most frequent. After a brief introduction covering morphology, chemistry, ecology and biogeography the main part of the work is, as the title suggests, a taxonomic account. It includes eight genera in four separate families, and 47 species are treated in detail. Of these, nine are new to science and 11 new to South America. However, nearly three-quarters of the species included occur in the northern hemisphere and only eight are endemic. The taxa are arranged systematically and keys to species are provided at the beginning of each generic treatment. For each species there is a morphological description, habitat, distribution and details of the specimens examined. A welcome element of the morphological description is the provision of details of the anamorph where known. Distribution maps are provided for most species. New taxa are illustrated with micrographs and details of spore ontogeny and surface ornamentation clarified using TEM and SEM photographs. Eight of the new species are illustrated with colour photographs in a plate near the beginning.
These tiny lichenized, lichenicolous or saprobic fungi occur in rather specialized habitats. In the northern hemisphere they are most common on the dry side of trees where they are not rained on directly. It is not clear from the present work whether this is also the case in South America but the preference for old trees and exposed lignum would suggest that this is so. The large number of northern temperate species occurring would also indicate that these fungi are evolutionarily ancient amongst the ascomycetes: a hypothesis perhaps supported by their possession of the unique "prototunicate" ascus. However, as TIBELL points out, the similar percentage of widespread Cladonia species (usually considered to be a more recent group) found in South America runs contrary to such a conclusion. The author has produced other regional studies of calicioid fungi - all. like the present work, of high quality and value This one provides the first overall treatment of these fungi in temperate South America and will surely encourage local lichenologists to look out for these fascinating organisms, confident that they will now be able to identify them.
J. C. David
Bibliography of Systematic Mycology (BSM) 10(8), Oct. 1999 and Index of Fungi (IF) 6