Cladonia subturgida and C. iberica (Cladoniaceae) form a single, morphologically and chemically polymorphic species

Cladonia subturgida and C. iberica constitute the whole of a Mediterranean problematic species, which shows great morphological polymorphism. A study was carried out in order to delimit the extant taxa within this group. The variability of the group was studied morphologically, chemically and phylogenetically. The phylogeny was based on three loci (ITS rDNA, rpb2 and mtLSU), using Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian analyses. Six chemotypes were identified, the most common one containing atranorin and protolichesterinic acid. Our results prove that C. subturgida and C. iberica constitute a single, morphologically and chemically polymorphic species. The taxonomic rank of C. turgida var. corsicana was also studied based on analyses of morphological, chemical and ITS rDNA data. The new nomenclatural combination, C. corsicana, is proposed.