| Dictyonema album | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Hygrophoraceae |
| Genus: | Dictyonema |
| Species: | D. album |
| Binomial name | |
| Dictyonema album Lücking & Timdal (2016) | |
Dictyonema album is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. [1] It is found in Mauritius, where it grows as an epiphyte on shrubs.
The lichen was formally described as a new species by lichenologists Robert Lücking and Einar Timdal. The type specimen was collected from Mount Cocotte (Savanne District) at an elevation of 650 m (2,130 ft), where it was found growing on tree bark. The species epithet album ("white") refers to the whitish appearance of the thallus resulting from the preponderance of sterile, straight hyphae and lack of coloured cyanobacterial fibrils. It is a member of the Dictyonema sericeum species complex, a group of species sharing similar overall morphology, including shelf-like, filamentous lobes. [2]
The thallus, or body, of Dictyonema album is filamentous and can take on a semi-circular shape, either adhering to projecting shelves or forming a crust on the substrate. The size of the thallus can reach up to 10 cm (4 in) in diameter, and it consists of multiple imbricate lobes , each measuring approximately 1 cm (0.4 in) in diameter. [2]
Individual lobes of Dictyonema album are made up of loose, interwoven, aeruginous (greenish-blue) tufts of fibrils with long, white tips. When viewed from above, the thallus appears whitish in color. In cross-section, the thallus is about 1–2 mm thick, and the tufts of fibrils extend up to 5 mm from the base. [2]
Dictyonema album lacks a distinct photobiont layer and medulla. Instead, the fibrils are connected to a white, loosely woven hypothallus at the base of the thallus. The tufts of fibrils are composed of densely arranged sterile, unbranched to sparsely branched hyphae that are arranged in parallel fashion. The hyphae are up to 0.5 mm thick and are intermingled with several (3–8) cyanobacterial fibrils, each with its own hyphal sheath. The hyphal sheath is colorless, measuring 14–16 μm in width and 2–3 μm in thickness. [2]
The cyanobacterial filaments within the tufts are composed of greenish-blue cells, measuring 10–12 μm in width and 3–5 μm in height, and are penetrated by tubular fungal hyphae. Heterocytes , which are hyaline, measuring 8–10 μm in width and 4–6 μm in height, are frequent. The cells of the hyphal sheath are wavy in lateral outline, measuring 3–5 μm in diameter, and the hyphae of the hypothallus and those associated with fibrils or forming apical setae are straight and hyaline. The thickness of these hyphae ranges from 4–7 μm, and they lack clamp connections. [2]
Dictyonema is a genus of mainly tropical basidiolichens in the family Hygrophoraceae.
Dictyonema hernandezii is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in montane rainforests of Costa Rica and in Colombia, it was described as new to science in 2011. The specific epithet hernandezii honours Venezuelan lichenologist Jesús Hernández.
Cora hirsuta is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in the páramo region near Bogotá at over 3,000 m (9,800 ft) elevation, it was described as new to science in 2011. The lichen, characterised by its distinctively hairy upper surface and smaller lobes, thrives in a variety of habitats, including soil, bryophytes, and as epiphytes on trees.
Acantholichen pannarioides is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae, and the type species of genus Acantholichen. The lichen has a bluish-tinged, gelatinous thallus with a surface texture that has a powdery to hairy texture. It is found in montane regions of Central America and northern South America, where it grows on forest litter, bark, on bryophytes, and on other lichens.
Lichenomphalia chromacea is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is found in southern Australia. The yellow-orange fruiting bodies of the species are mushroom-like, with a cap width of typically less than 4 cm. The thallus of the lichen is a greenish, granular layer of fungal hyphae and algae on the soil around the base of the stipe.
Dictyonema barbatum is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, where it grows as an epiphyte on the bark of branches and trunks, often on introduced plants such as avocado and guava trees. It was formally described as a new species in 2017 by Manuela Dal-Forno, Frank Bungartz, and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected near the southern crater rim of the Sierra Negra, at an altitude of 1,055 m (3,461 ft). Its preferred habitat is open areas with lots of rainfall and light exposure. The lichen forms shelf-like, filamentous brackets comprising individual semicircular lobes up to 8 cm (3 in) wide. The specific epithet barbatum refers to the "beard-like" white hairs on the shelf margins, a characteristic feature of this species. These "hairs" are sheaths of fungal hyphae that lack photobiont filaments.
Dictyonema lawreyi is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in the United States, it was formally described as a new species in 2019 by Manuela Dal Forno, Laurel Kaminsky, and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected in Ocala National Forest, where it was growing as an epiphyte on a trunk of Magnolia. It is only known to occur here and in two other locations in Florida, all in hardwood forests. The lichen has a crustose and filamentous growth form on a white hypothallus, and thallus surface made of a mat of turquoise, loosely interwoven fibrils forming more or less continuous patches up to 5 cm (2 in) long. The type was collected by lichenologist James D. Lawrey, for whom the species is named, and whose work, according to the authors, "helped to redefine the circumscription of the genus Dictyonema s.str."
Multiclavula ichthyiformis is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling) basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in Costa Rica, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Matthew Nelsen, Robert Lücking, Loengrin Umaña, Marie Trest, and Susan Will-Wolf. The type collection was collected in the Macizo de la Muerte section of Tapantí National Park at an elevation of 2,700 m (8,900 ft). Here, in a disturbed high-altitude peat bog in a rainforest, it was found growing on the ground along a brook and a road bank.
Psora taurensis is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), squamulose lichen in the family Lecanoraceae. It is found in the Taurus Mountains of Turkey.
Physcidia striata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), microfoliose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. Found in South America, it was formally described as a new species in 2014 by lichenologists André Aptroot, Marcela Cáceres, and Einar Timdal. The type specimen was collected by the first two authors from the Estação Ecológica de Cuniã (Rondônia), where it was found growing on the smooth bark of a tree in a primary rainforest. It also occurs in Peru. The thallus of the lichen is a loose mat of squamules (scales) without a hypothallus. Its lobes are smooth, flat, branched, and greyish-green, measuring 2–7 mm long by 0.5–1.5 mm wide. The species epithet striata refers to the faint longitudinal striations that are present on the lobe undersides. Isidia occur on the thallus surface; they are the same colour as the thallus, with dimensions of 0.3–0.7 mm long by 0.1–0.2 mm wide. When they are abraded, it reveals the whitish colour of the underlying medulla. The lichen contains divaricatic acid, a lichen product that is revealed with the use of thin-layer chromatography.
Leptogium compactum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Collemataceae. Found in northwestern North America, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Daphne Stone, Frances Anderson, and James Hinds. It is distinguished from related Leptogium species by the tightly packed hyphae in the medulla; this characteristic internal anatomy is alluded to in the species epithet compactum.
Cyphellostereum bicolor is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in Mauritius, it was formally described as a new species by lichenologists Robert Lücking and Einar Timdal. The type specimen was collected from the Bambou Mountains at an elevation of 250–300 m (820–980 ft), where it was found growing on tree bark. The species epithet bicolor refers to the notable visual contrast between the vivid blue-green cyanobacterial filaments and the white hyphal patches that give rise to the hymenophore.
Dictyonema tricolor is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is found in Tanzania, where it grows as an epiphyte on trees. The lichen was formally described as a new species by lichenologists Robert Lücking and Einar Timdal. The type specimen was collected by Norwegian Hildur Krog from a low montane rainforest in Lulandu Forest, at an elevation of 2,000 m (6,600 ft). The species epithet refers to the three-colours displayed where the regularly ascending tufts of blue-green cyanobacterial fibrils meet the brown or white colour in the apical part of the tufts.
Dictyonema ramificans is a basidiolichen species in the family Hygrophoraceae. Discovered in 2010 in the Galapagos Islands, it was formally described as a new species in 2017 by lichenologists Manuela Dal-Forno, Alba Yanez-Ayabaca, and Robert Lücking. Its species epithet is derived from the branching pattern of the fibrils that form a net-like structure, giving it an arachnoid (cobweb-like) appearance. This species has only been found in the humid zone of Santa Cruz Island, growing exclusively on bryophytes. While it is similar to other Dictyonema species, it differs in its unique fibril branching pattern and erect arachnoid structure.
Dictyonema aeruginosulum is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Characteristics of the lichen include its distinctive finger-like projections and blue-green hue. It is distinguishable from its closest relatives by its unique morphology and the absence of clamp connections in its structure. Dictyonema aeruginosulum is an epiphyte, forming thick mats on tree trunks within rainforest regions. The species was first identified in Costa Rica's Tenorio Volcano National Park, and it has only been recorded from this location.
Dictyonema krogiae is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is found in Kenya, where it grows as an epiphyte on trees. It is often found in association with other lichens, such as Parmotrema, and bryophytes, such as Frullania. A main characteristic that distinguishes it from other closely related species is its clearly defined internal layers, including its contrasting dense photobiont layer and a loose lower cortex.
Dictyonema metallicum is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is found in the montane rainforests of Ecuador. Characterised by its metallic shimmer, it is an epiphytic lichen that spans large areas on host tree trunks and frequently extends to adjacent bryophytes. Its unique visual texture is created by the loosely interwoven dark blue fibrils of the thallus, a thin, compressed filamentous layer, accentuated by a silver prothallus.
Dictyonema obscuratum is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Originally discovered in Brazil and later recorded in Bolivia and Colombia, its cryptic, olive-green thallus sets it apart from similar species like Dictyonema phyllophilum and D. schenckianum.
Neosergipea septoconidiata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Roccellaceae. It is a unique species of lichen that grows on the bark of trees in the primary forests of Brazil with its bluish-grey thallus and bright orange pycnidia that have a fluffy hyphal surface.
Opegrapha ramisorediata is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Opegraphaceae. Known to occur only in northeastern Brazil, it was described as a new species in 2017. It is characterised by a thin, pale greenish-mauve thallus.