In a structural study of
Floridian Botryolepraria material that was genetically closest to
B. neotropica, the thallus formed an uncorticated, whitish to light greenish-grey layer with a broadly granular appearance. Under magnification it consisted of a loose, three-dimensional lattice of fungal
hyphae, within which distinct clusters of green algal cells were held suspended. Hyphal branches were observed growing both outward from the thallus and back toward algal clusters, and the hyphae fused frequently by
anastomosis (including tip-to-tip fusions and short lateral bridges), sometimes completing small ring-like circuits in the lattice. The aerial hyphae were strongly
hydrophobic and often carried a very fine, thread-like surface coating interpreted as a wax-like material; this coating is thought to help keep the open lattice free of surface water in the humid, sheltered sites where the lichen occurs. No
sexual reproductive structures (such as
perithecia) or specialized vegetative
propagules were observed; occasional
conidium-like hyphal segments were seen pinching off, but their function was not confirmed. In published species-level comparisons,
B. neotropica differs from
B. lesdainii in having larger granules (about 200
μm across) and in producing
zeorin without
lesdainin. In the Floridian material closest to
B. neotropica, the algal partner was placed using
rbcL gene sequences in the stichococcoid green-algal genus
Pseudostichococcus (family
Prasiolaceae), though the sequence was not identical to
P. monallantoides. ==References==