| Blastenia ferruginea | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Teloschistales |
| Family: | Teloschistaceae |
| Genus: | Blastenia |
| Species: | B. ferruginea |
| Binomial name | |
| Blastenia ferruginea | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
List
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Blastenia ferruginea is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. [2] It has a cosmopolitan distribution.
Lichen ferrugineus has a complex taxonomic history characterised by significant nomenclatural changes and taxonomic revisions over the centuries. It was first formally described by botanist William Hudson in 1762, as Lichen ferrugineus. [3] Italian lichenologist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo transferred it to the newly circumscribed genus Blastenia in 1852. [4] Massalongo did not propose a type species for the genus, but Frederic Clements and Cornelius Lott Shear designated Blastenia ferruginea as the type in 1931. [5] However, because most contemporary authors treated this taxon as a species of Caloplaca , the genus Blastenia fell into disuse. [6]
For more than 150 years, this lichen species was most commonly known as Caloplaca ferruginea due to its distinctive features, including a grey thallus and dark red apothecia without a thalline margin . This name found its way into numerous scientific publications and major floras. However, in 2017, taxonomic investigations led to the reclassification of Lichen ferrugineus within the resurrected genus Blastenia . The revised nomenclature was supported by a closer examination of Hudson's original description, which revealed similarities to another lichen species known as Bacidia rubella , characterised by its red apothecia (fruiting bodies) and granular thallus. [7]
In light of these taxonomic challenges and to avoid further confusion, Linda in Arcadia and Jan Vondrák put forth a proposal for the conservation of the name Blastenia ferruginea in its traditionally recognised sense. This conservation, according to the authors, would firmly establish the application of the name, preserving the historical usage of Blastenia ferruginea spanning more than a century and a half. As part of the conservation proposal, a recent, well-documented collection of Blastenia ferruginea with typical characteristics has been suggested as the conserved type specimen. This measure aims to provide clarity in the taxonomic naming of this lichen species, which has undergone various interpretations throughout its taxonomic history. [7] In December 2003, the Report of the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi endorsed the conservation of the name Lichen ferrugineus (Blastenia ferruginea), with a conserved type, as proposed. This decision, supported by a 78% vote in favour, aimed to stabilize the application of the name Blastenia ferruginea and prevent potential confusion with the well-known lichen Bacidia rubella. The committee's approval acknowledged the lack of original material for lectotypification and agreed that conservation with a conserved type was the most suitable resolution. [8]
The pale grey to dark grey thallus of Blastenia ferruginea is typically entire or immersed in the host bark, with a thin profile. It has a smooth texture and a white-grey hue, although it can sometimes appear darker. The thallus is K−. The apothecia of Blastenia ferruginea measure 1–2 mm in diameter, and often have a markedly uneven and flexuose margin. They are rust red to reddish brown in colour. [9]
Unlike Blastenia crenularia , the photobiont in B. ferruginea is scanty or absent beneath the hymenium, further distinguishing it from its relative. [9] Blastenia ferruginea can be distinguished from its close relative, B. hungarica , based on the size of their apothecia. While the apothecia of Blastenia ferruginea typically measure between 0.8 and 1.5 mm in diameter, those of B. hungarica are smaller, usually less than 0.6 mm in diameter. [10]
Blastenia ferruginea has a cosmopolitan distribution. It primarily grows on the bark of trees such as Hazel (Corylus), common aspen (Populus tremula), ash (Fraxinus), and Sorbus , and is occasionally found on old timber. In the United Kingdom, it is scarce and appears to be declining, with recent records mostly from Northern and Western Scotland, Western Ireland, and sporadically in Cumbria, Hampshire, and Sussex. It has become rare or extinct in most parts of England, Wales, and Central Europe. [9] In Belgium, it was considered locally extinct because it had not been recorded since 1890, but it was discovered growing on willow (Salix) 120 years later. [11] In Germany, the lichen is thought to have declined significantly in the second half of the twentieth century due to pollution, but as of 2018 appears to be making a comeback. [10] Blastenia ferruginea was recorded as new to tropical Africa in 2005, and had previously been reported from South Africa and from Morocco. [12]
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 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.
Gyalolechia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It contains 18 species of crustose lichens.
Athallia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Patrik Frödén, and Ulrik Søchting, and the type species is Athallia holocarpa. The genus name means "without a thallus".
Blastenia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1852 by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo.
Kuettlingeria is a genus of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. Species are characterized by a white or gray thallus and the presence of anthraquinones in the apothecial disc and true exciple, with the exception of Kuettlingeria diphyodes, which entirely lacks anthraquinones. First described by Italian botanist Trevisan in 1857, the genus includes 15 recognized species, although it is believed to be more diverse with additional unnamed species. These lichens are predominantly found in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in the Mediterranean region, and grow on limestone and base-rich siliceous outcrops in sunlit conditions.
Pyrenodesmia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. The genus currently includes 23 recognized species but is believed to contain many more unnamed taxa. The genus was circumscribed in 1852 by Italian lichenologist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo. It is characterised by the complete absence of anthraquinones and the presence of Sedifolia-gray pigments in both the thallus and apothecia. These lichens are typically found in calcareous outcrops in the Northern Hemisphere, with biodiversity centres in the Mediterranean basin, Central Asia, and arid regions of western North America.
Parvoplaca nigroblastidiata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Europe and Alaska, it was formally described as a new species in 2015 by Ulf Arup, Jan Vondrák, and Mehmet Halıcı. The type specimen was collected in the Nyhem Parish, Jämtland (Sweden), where it was growing on the bark of Populus tremula. In Turkey, it has been recorded at high altitudes on the bark of Juniperus excelsa and Abies cilicica, while in a single record from Alaska it is growing on Populus. In 2018 it was reported from the sacred groves of Epirus in Greece, and in 2020 from Norway.
Opeltia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has four species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens.
Fauriea is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. The genus, which contains seven species, is a member of the subfamily Caloplacoideae.
Eilifdahlia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains three species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens that occur in the Southern Hemisphere.
Caloplaca filsonii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It has a crust-like thallus that is uneven and warty around the edges and more distinctly wart-like in the centre, coloured in shades of grey and brownish-grey near its reproductive structures (apothecia), but lacking a developed prothallus.
Fauriea trassii is a lichen species in the family Teloschistaceae, described in 2011. It is primarily found in the Far East of Russia, particularly in the Primorsky Krai region.
Pyrenodesmia micromontana is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in the Orenburg region of Russia, this species prefers to grow on lime-rich schist and sandstone boulders and pebbles in scrubs and steppes.
Pyrenodesmia micromarina is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in the Eastern Mediterranean, specifically along the coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara in Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. It grows on coastal rocks and occasionally concrete, often in Mediterranean scrub vegetation.
Kuettlingeria soralifera is a saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen species in the family Teloschistaceae, first described in 2006. It is similar to Kuettlingeria xerica but distinguished by the presence of soredia on its thallus.
Kuettlingeria teicholyta is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae, and the type species of the genus Kuettlingeria. It is a widely distributed lichen, having been recorded from Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Oxneriopsis is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has four species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens.
Coppinsiella is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains five species of corticolous and saxicolous crustose lichens with a distribution in Europe, Asia, and North America. Coppinsiella bears resemblance to the genus Athallia, but it is distinguished by its more developed thallus, typically featuring distinctive crater-like soralia and zeorine-form apothecia, which lack a thalline margin.
Marchantiana occidentalis is a species of corticolous and saxicolous, crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in Western Australia, usually as an inhabitant of dry twigs, bark, or wood of various plant species, but occasionally on granite rock outcrops. It forms a well-developed thallus, shiny and composed of tiny dark greenish to brown areoles, with sizes typically ranging from 5–15 mm, though larger aggregations are possible. It features numerous rounded apothecia scattered across its surface, varying in form and colour, with a distinct margin and disc.
Kuettlingeria neotaurica is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae.