| Alectoria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Alectoria sarmentosa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Parmeliaceae |
| Genus: | Alectoria Ach. (1809) |
| Type species | |
| Alectoria sarmentosa (Ach.) Ach. (1810) | |
| Species | |
A. brodoana Contents | |
Alectoria is a genus of fruticose lichens belonging to the family Parmeliaceae. [1]
The genus Alectoria was previously placed in the family Alectoriaceae, which was widely accepted as distinct from Parmeliaceae based on differences in reproductive structures such as larger asci, pigmented spores, and distinctive hamathecial characteristics. However, a 1999 molecular phylogenetic study examined the relationship between Alectoriaceae and Parmeliaceae using sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Their analysis included specimens of Alectoria ochroleuca and A. sarmentosa along with various members of the Parmeliaceae. The results showed that Alectoria was derived from within the Parmeliaceae, suggesting the two families should be treated as synonyms. While previous taxonomic work had emphasised differences in ascus structure, spore size, and hamathecial characteristics to justify separating Alectoriaceae, the study concluded that these variations represented extremes within a continuous range of characters found in Parmeliaceae rather than distinct family-level differences. The authors recommended including Alectoria within a broader concept of Parmeliaceae rather than maintaining it in a separate family. [2]
Usnea is a genus of mostly pale grayish-green fruticose lichens that grow like leafless mini-shrubs or tassels anchored on bark or twigs. The genus is in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows all over the world. Members of the genus are commonly called old man's beard, beard lichen, or beard moss.
The Parmeliaceae is a large and diverse family of Lecanoromycetes. With over 2700 species in 71 genera, it is the largest family of lichen-forming fungi. The most speciose genera in the family are the well-known groups: Xanthoparmelia, Usnea, Parmotrema, and Hypotrachyna.
Irwin Murray Brodo is an emeritus scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is an authority on the identification and biology of lichens.
Pseudevernia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. The type species of the genus, Pseudevernia furfuracea, has substantial commercial value in the perfume industry.
Pseudephebe is a genus of fruticose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains three species that grow on rocks.
Hypogymnia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. They are commonly known as tube lichens, bone lichens, or pillow lichens. Most species lack rhizines that are otherwise common in members of the Parmeliaceae, and have swollen lobes that are usually hollow. Other common characteristics are relatively small spores and the presence of physodic acid and related lichen products. The lichens usually grow on the bark and wood of coniferous trees.
Melanohalea is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains 30 mostly Northern Hemisphere species that grow on bark or on wood. The genus is characterised by the presence of pseudocyphellae, usually on warts or on the tips of isidia, a non-pored epicortex and a medulla containing depsidones or lacking secondary metabolites. Melanohalea was circumscribed in 2004 as a segregate of the morphologically similar genus Melanelia, which was created in 1978 for certain brown Parmelia species. The methods used to estimate the evolutionary history of Melanohalea suggest that its diversification primarily occurred during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs.
Melanelixia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains 15 Northern Hemisphere species that grow on bark or on wood. The genus is characterized by a pored or fenestrate epicortex, and the production of lecanoric acid as the primary chemical constituent of the medulla. Melanelixia was circumscribed in 2004 as a segregate of the related genus Melanelia.
Parmelinella is a genus of lichen belonging to the family Parmeliaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1987 by John Elix and Mason Hale as a segregate of Parmelina, from which it differs in having larger ascospores and containing salazinic acid. Although the genus had been assumed to be well-defined morphologically, a 2021 molecular phylogenetic study suggests that the generic delimitations need to be revised.
Gowardia is a genus of medium-sized, greyish hair lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It is a circumpolar genus, mainly restricted to arctic-alpine habitats in northern Canada, Europe, and Russia.
Tuckermanella is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Parmeliaceae.
Bryoria is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. Many members of this genus are known as horsehair lichens. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in boreal and cool temperate areas.
Melanohalea subolivacea, commonly known as the brown-eyed camouflage lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.
Melanohalea subelegantula is a species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in North America, where it grows on bark and wood. The lichen was first formally described as Parmelia subelegantula by Ted Esslinger in 1977. A year later he transferred it to the segregate genus Melanelia. In 2004, it was moved to the newly circumscribed genus Melanohalea. Named for its resemblance to Melanohalea elegantula, it can be distinguished from that species by its slightly flattened, but not hollow, isidia.
Melanohalea elegantula, commonly known as the elegant camouflage lichen, is a species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first described by Alexander Zahlbruckner in 1894 as Parmelia aspidota var. elegantula. Hungarian lichenologist Ödön Szatala promoted it to full species status, as Parmelia elegantula, in 1930. Ted Esslinger transferred it to the genus Melanelia in 1978. Finally, it was assigned to the newly circumscribed genus Melanohalea in 2004.
Salazinic acid is a depsidone with a lactone ring. It is found in some lichens, and is especially prevalent in Parmotrema and Bulbothrix, where its presence or absence is often used to help classify species in those genera.
Sulcaria isidiifera, commonly known as the splitting yarn lichen, is a rare species of pendent (hanging) fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It has a dull yellowish-white to light brown and reddish-brown thallus and is typically 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) long. It is only known to occur in the Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve, in the Central Coast of California region, where it grows on a variety of shrubs.
Melanohalea exasperatula, commonly known as the lustrous camouflage lichen or lustrous brown-shield, is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It has a widespread global distribution and is common in both Europe and northern North America. Its thallus can grow up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter, with marginal lobes up to 5 mm broad. The upper surface is pale olive-green to red-brown, with isidia that are unbranched, inflated, and hollow. It can be distinguished from similar species by the shape and structure of these isidia. The lower surface of the thallus is pale tan to pale brown with scattered, pale rhizines. Apothecia are uncommon, while pycnidia and secondary metabolites have not been observed in this species. The lack of defensive chemicals makes it vulnerable to grazing by slugs and snails. The evolutionary history of Melanohalea exasperatula is linked to major climatic events during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs.
Alectoria imshaugii, commonly known as spiny witches hair, is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae that occurs in North America. It was described as a new species by the lichenologists Irwin Brodo and David L. Hawksworth in their 1977 monograph on the genus Alectoria. The species epithet honors Henry Andrew Imshaug. The variety venezuelensis, proposed in 1994, occurs in Venezuela.
