The Cladoniaceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the order Lecanorales. It is one of the largest families of lichen-forming fungi, with about 560 species distributed amongst 17 genera. The reindeer moss and cup lichens (Cladonia) belong to this family. The latter genus, which comprises about 500 species, forms a major part of the diet of large mammals in taiga and tundra ecosystems. Many Cladoniaceae lichens grow on soil, but other can use decaying wood, tree trunks, and, in a few instances, rocks as their substrate. They grow in places with high humidity, and cannot tolerate aridity.
The Acarosporales are an order of fungi in the class Lecanoromycetes. Phylogenetic analyses conducted using the sequences of both the protein-coding gene RPB2 as well as nuclear ribosomal genes place this order within the subclass Acarosporomycetidae.
The Ostropomycetidae are a subclass of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the class Lecanoromycetes. The subclass was circumscribed in 2004 by Catherine Reeb, François M. Lutzoni, and Claude Roux. It contains ten orders and 36 families.
The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, although members occur predominantly in subtropical and temperate regions. Most members are lichens that either live on rock or on bark, but about 40 species are lichenicolous – meaning they are non-lichenised fungi that live on other lichens. Many members of the Teloschistaceae are readily identifiable by their vibrant orange to yellow hue, a result of their frequent anthraquinone content. The presence of these anthraquinone pigments, which confer protection from ultraviolet light, enabled this group to expand from shaded forest habitats to harsher environmental conditions of sunny and arid ecosystems during the Late Cretaceous.
The Lichinaceae are a family of ascomycete fungi. Most species are lichenized with cyanobacteria, and have a distribution largely in temperate regions.
The Baeomycetales are an order of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the subclass Ostropomycetidae, in the class Lecanoromycetes. It contains 8 families, 33 genera and about 170 species. As a result of molecular phylogenetics research published in the late 2010s, several orders were folded into the Baeomycetales, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of taxa.
The Gomphillaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. Species in this family are found mostly in tropical regions.
The Graphidaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. The family contains nearly a hundred genera and more than 2000 species. Although the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, most Graphidaceae species occur in tropical regions, and typically grow on bark.
Verrucariaceae is a family of lichens and a few non-lichenised fungi in the order Verrucariales. The lichens have a wide variety of thallus forms, from crustose (crust-like) to foliose (bushy) and squamulose (scaly). Most of them grow on land, some in freshwater and a few in the sea. Many are free-living but there are some species that are parasites on other lichens, while one marine species always lives together with a leafy green alga.
The Trypetheliaceae are a family of mainly lichen-forming fungi in the order Trypetheliales. The family consists almost exclusively of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens with an almost strictly tropical distribution.
The Arctomiaceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the Ascomycota, class Baeomycetales. The family was named by Theodor Magnus Fries in 1861, with Arctomia as the type genus. Species in this family are found in arctic and subarctic habitats, usually associated with bryophytes.
The Caliciaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. Although the family has had its classification changed several times throughout its taxonomic history, the use of modern molecular phylogenetic methods have helped to establish its current placement in the order Caliciales. Caliciaceae contains 39 genera and about 670 species. The largest genus is Buellia, with around 300 species; there are more than a dozen genera that contain only a single species.
Trichotheliaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Gyalectales. The family was circumscribed by Friedrich von Schilling and Friedrich August Georg Bitter in 1927.
Trapeliaceae is a family of lichens in the order Baeomycetales. The family contains 12 genera and about 125 species.
Opegraphaceae is a family of lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi in the order Arthoniales. It was originally proposed by German lichenologist Ernst Stizenberger in 1862. It fell into disuse, but was resurrected in a molecular phylogenetic study of the order Arthoniales published in 2010. It now includes taxa that were previously referred to the family Roccellaceae, its sister group.
Leprocaulaceae is a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi. It is the single family in the monotypic order Leprocaulales. Leprocaulaceae contains three genera and about 33 species.
Sporastatiaceae is a small family of crustose lichens in the order Rhizocarpales. It contains two genera, Sporastatia and Toensbergia, with a total of five species. Sporastatiaceae was circumscribed in 2013 by Mika Bendiksby and Ernst Timdal.
Carbonicola is a small genus of lichen-forming fungi. It is the sole genus in the monogeneric family Carbonicolaceae. The genus, which collectively has an almost cosmopolitan distribution, contains three squamulose lichens that prefer to grow on burned wood in temperate areas of the world.
Massalongiaceae is a small family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Peltigerales. It has three genera and seven species.
Strangospora is a genus of lichen-forming fungi. It is the only genus in the family Strangosporaceae, which itself is of uncertain taxonomic placement in the Ascomycota. It contains 10 species.
