The Arthoniaceae are a family of lichenized, lichenicolous and saprobic fungi in the order Arthoniales. The Arthoniaceae is the largest family of Arthoniales, with around 800 species. Most species in Arthoniaceae belong in Arthonia which is the largest genus with 500 species. The second and third largest genus is Arthothelium with 80 species, and Cryptothecia with 60 species.
Cryptothecia is a genus of white to greenish crustose lichens that grow on bark, wood, or leaves. in tropical or subtropical areas worldwide. It has a conspicuous prothallus that develops around its periphery which can be bright red in some species, hence the common name wreath lichen. The main vegetative body (thallus) lacks a cortex (ecorticate and is often immersed in the substrate or byssoid. The medulla is white, well defined, and often peppered with calcium oxalate crystals. Ascomata are not well defined, being cushions of soft white mycelium immersed in the medullary tissue, hence the name from the Greek krypto = "to conceal" and theke = "a container or sheath". There are about 45 described species in the genus according to one source, and 75 species according to another. The genus is in the family Arthoniaceae. It contains Trentepohlia, a green alga, as its photobiont partner.
Felipes is a genus of lichenized fungi in the order Arthoniales. Circumscribed by Andreas Frisch and Göran Thor in 2014, it contains the single species Felipes leucopellaeus. Genetic analysis shows that the genus falls into the order Arthoniales, but its familial placement is uncertain. Felipes leucopellaeus is found across Europe and North America in temperate and boreal regions, typically in old-growth forest or wooded mires. It is crustose and corticolous.
Graphis crebra is a species of corticolous lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It has a pantropical distribution. Like other script lichens, it grows on bark and resembles calligraphy. It can be distinguished from several other similar species by the white pruina (powder) on its apothecial discs.
Punctelia rudecta, commonly known as the rough speckled shield or the speckleback lichen, is a North American species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. This species can be readily identified by the light color of the thallus underside, the relatively large lobes at the edges of the thallus, and the tiny white pores present on the top of the thallus that are characteristic of the genus Punctelia. The lichen is quite abundant and widespread in the eastern and southeastern United States, although it also occurs in Canada and northern Mexico, but is less common in these regions. The lichen usually grows on bark, and less commonly on shaded rocks. There are several lookalike Punctelia species; these can often be distinguished from P. rudecta by differences in distribution or in the nature of the reproductive structures present on the thallus.
Lichexanthone is an organic compound in the structural class of chemicals known as xanthones. Lichexanthone was first isolated and identified by Japanese chemists from a species of leafy lichen in the 1940s. The compound is known to occur in many lichens, and it is important in the taxonomy of species in several genera, such as Pertusaria and Pyxine. More than a dozen lichen species have a variation of the word lichexanthone incorporated as part of their binomial name. The presence of lichexanthone in lichens causes them to fluoresce a greenish-yellow colour under long-wavelength UV light; this feature is used to help identify some species. Lichexanthone is also found in several plants, and some species of fungi that do not form lichens.
Crypthonia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Arthoniaceae. It has 16 species. The genus was circumscribed in 2010 by Andreas Frisch and Göran Thor, with Crypthonia polillensis assigned as the type species.
Cryptothecia lichexanthonica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2013 by Edvaneide Leandro de Lima, André Aptroot, and Marcela Eugenia da Silva Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by Lima from the Vale do Catimbau National Park, at an altitude of 885 m (2,904 ft); here it was found growing on smooth tree bark. The lichen has a smooth, pale greenish-grey spreading thallus up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter. The thallus, which is 0.1–0.2 mm thick, is surrounded by a thin brown hypothallus. The ascospores are muriform, ellipsoid in shape, and measure 55–75 by 22–28 μm. The specific epithet lichexanthonica refers to lichexanthone, a secondary chemical that occurs in the thallus. This compound is rare in the genus Cryptothecia, as the only other congener in which it known is to occur is Cryptothecia assimilis.
Chrysothrix septemseptata is a species of crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. Found in India, it was formally described as a new species in 2006 by T.A.M. Jagadeesh Ram, H. Thorsten Lumbsch, Robert Lücking, and G.P. Sinha. The type specimen was collected in the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve ; here it was found growing on the bark of the mangrove tree Tamarix gallica. The lichen grows as a thin lemon-yellow crust measuring 0.5–2 cm (0.2–0.8 in) in diameter, with isolated patches sometimes coalescing. It contains vulpinic acid as a major secondary chemical, and minor amounts of calycin. Chrysothrix septemseptata is only known to occur at the type locality. Other mangrove trees that it is found on include Brugruiera gymnorhiza, Heritiera fomes, and Sonneratia apetala, as well as the non-mangrove tree Casuarina equisetifolia. The specific epithet septemseptata refers to the seven septa that are characteristic of the ascospores of this lichen.
Cryptothecia punctosorediata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. Found in northern Thailand, it was formally described as a new species in 2005 by Laurens Sparrius. The type specimen was collected from Ban Hauy Som Poy at an elevation of 300 m (980 ft); here it was found growing on the smooth bark of the mango tree Mangifera indica. It contains the secondary compound gyrophoric acid. The specific epithet punctosorediata refers to the punctiform soralia. At the time of publication, C. punctosorediata was the only species of Cryptothecia known to have discrete soralia.
Myriostigma is a genus of lichens in the family Arthoniaceae. The genus was circumscribed by German lichenologist August von Krempelhuber in 1874.
Cryptothecia methylmicrophyllinica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. Found in Java, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by André Aptroot and Jos Leo Spier. The type specimen was collected by Pieter Groenhart in 1954 from West Bantam. The lichen makes a thin, dull, greyish-white thallus. It contains the secondary compound 5-O-microphyllinic acid, which is detectable using thin-layer chromatography; the specific epithet refers to the presence of this substance.
Ocellularia kansriae is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Northern and Eastern Thailand, it was formally described as a new species in 2002 by lichenologists Natsurang Homchantara and Brian J. Coppins. The type specimen was collected from Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park at an altitude of 1,475 m (4,839 ft); here, in an evergreen forest, it was found growing on the bark of Syzygium. The lichen has a shiny, olivaceous-grey thallus with a texture ranging from smooth to finely verruculose (warted). It contains protocetraric acid, a secondary compound. The specific epithet kansriae honours Thai lichenologist Kansri Boonpragob, a colleague who collected specimens from Khao Yai National Park in Eastern Thailand.
Cryptothecia austrocoreana is a species of crustose and corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. Found in South Korea, it was formally described as a new species in 2017 by Jung-Jae Woo, László Lőkös, Edit Farkas, and Jae-Seoun Hur. The type specimen was collected by the first author near Seonamsa at an altitude of 160 m (520 ft); here it was found growing on the bark of Meliosma myriantha. It also grows on the bark of Carpinus tschonoskii. The lichen is only known to occur at the type locality. The specific epithet austrocoreana refers to the southern part of South Korea.
Herpothallon capilliferum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. Found in China, it was formally described as a new species in 2022 by Pengfei Chen and Lulu Zhang. The type was collected from Dayang Lake Nature Reserve at an elevation of 1,405 m (4,610 ft); here the lichen was found growing on Nyssa sinensis. The main characteristics of the species are the presence of norstictic acid as a major lichen product, and the projecting hyphae of the pseudisidia. The species epithet capilliferum refers to this latter characteristic.
Herpothallon polyisidiatum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. Found in China, it was formally described as a new species in 2022 by Pengfei Chen and Lulu Zhang. The type was collected from Mangshan National Forest Park at an elevation of 1,716 m (5,630 ft). The lichen contains stictic acid, a lichen product that can be detected using thin-layer chromatography. The species epithet refers to polyisidiatum refers to the pseudisidia, which are plentiful in this species.
Herpothallon subglobosum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. Found in China, it was formally described as a new species in 2022 by Pengfei Chen and Lulu Zhang. The type was collected in Baimaluo at an elevation of 2,100 m (6,900 ft). The lichen contains gyrophoric acid, lecanoric acid, and umbilicaric acid, which are lichen products that can be detected using thin-layer chromatography. The species epithet subglobosum refers to the somewhat spherical pseudisidia.
Herpothallon viridi-isidiatum is a species of crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. Found in China, it was formally described as a new species in 2022 by Pengfei Chen and Lulu Zhang. The type was collected from the Baiyun Protection Station at an altitude of almost 1,300 m (4,300 ft); here, the lichen was found growing on the bark of Cunninghamia lanceolata. The species epithet viridi-isidiatum refers to the greenish-coloured pseudisidia. Gyrophoric acid, lecanoric acid, and umbilicaric acid are all lichen products that have been identified in this lichen.
Heiomasia is a genus of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens in the family Graphidaceae. It has five species.
Inoderma sorediatum is a species of crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. It is only known to occur on the bark of trees in Poland's Białowieża National Park. It is differentiated from other species in genus Inoderma by the form of its thallus, which is entirely made of powdery, granular soredia, as well as by the presence of a unique combination of lichen products.
