Cladonia rei and Cladonia subulata are morphologically similar, but chemically different cup lichens of dry grasslands and nutrient-poor ruderal habitats. Recently, C. rei has been synonymized with C. subulata on the basis of combined morphological and chemical investigations. However, doubts remained due to a molecular divergent North American sample of C. rei compared to European C. subulata. To clarify the situation, using molecular methods, we analysed chemically different European samples of C. rei and C. subulata, as well as other morphologically or chemically similar Cladonia species. Molecular data show that European and North American samples of C. rei belong to the same clade, which is closely related to C. fimbriata and followed by a subclade with C. coniocraea and C. ochrochlora. The subclade of C. subulata appears to be distinct from C. rei. In concordance with molecular data, the presence of homosekikaic acid is the determining chemical feature for C. rei. In addition, C. humilis and C. innominata proved to be molecularly distinct species.
Following the study of epiphytic lichens in 30 apple orchards from Poland, Slovakia and Italy the list of 74 taxa was prepared. The most common are the meso- to xerophytic and heliophilous species. The highest number of taxa was observed in Slovak orchards. Moreover, lichens shared with at least one other country were also noted mainly in Slovakia. Bark of apple trees seems to create favourable habitats for <em>Bacidia rubella</em>, which together with <em>Strangospora pinicola</em> were valuable founds in Polish orchards. In Slovak orchards, special attention should be paid to <em>Acrocordia gemmata, Melanelixia glabra</em> and <em>Usnea hirta</em>. Among interesting records in Italian orchards, <em>Phaeophyscia hispidula</em> and <em>Ph. kairamoi</em> can be mentioned.
The lichen genus <em>Cladonia</em> comprises several similar species which have hardly been recognized in Western Poland so far. We used thin layer chromatography (TLC) as a simple technique to determine diagnostic lichen substances in morphologically similar <em>Cladonia</em> species. During field studies in Sandr Nowotomyski (western Nizina Wielkopolska Lowland), ten interesting records of <em>Cladonia</em> species were made. <em>Cladonia novochlorophaea</em> is reported for the first time from this region. Our records supplement the knowledge about the distribution of <em>Cladonia</em> species both in the investigated region and in Poland. All the records are compared with existing literature data from regional floristic inventories and distribution maps from Poland.
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