| Dirinaria confusa | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Caliciales |
| Family: | Caliciaceae |
| Genus: | Dirinaria |
| Species: | D. confusa |
| Binomial name | |
| Dirinaria confusa D. D. Awasthi | |
Dirinaria confusa is a species of fungus [2] within the family Caliciaceae, belonging to the order Caliciales in the class Lecanoromycetes of the division Ascomycota.
Two subspecies are recognized:
Dirinaria confusa exhibits foliose thalli, which are approximately pressed and loosely pressed at the tips of lobes, with a maximum diameter of up to 8 cm. The lobes display a pinnate or subpinnate lobate structure, spreading out and merging, typically flat or convex but occasionally concave towards the tips, measuring between 0.2 and 3 mm wide. Notably, they take on a distinct fan-like appearance towards the lobe tips. [3]
On the upper surface, the coloration varies from gray to bluish gray, nearly white, or straw-colored, sometimes with a slight powdery coating or lacking such. There are no visible soralia, isidia, or polysidiangia, but distinctive pseudocyphellae are evident, primarily located on the edges and surface, occasionally forming interconnected patterns. The medulla is either entirely white or shows a hint of orange at its base. The lower surface starts dark at the center and gradually lightens towards the tips of the lobes, lacking any rhizines. [3]
Apothecia are often present, found laminal on the thallus, with diameters ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 mm. The disc is black, slightly grayish pruinose, sometimes lacking a pruina. Ascospores are brown, 1-septate, narrowly ellipsoid, with dimensions of 12-19 x 5-7 μm. Pycnidia are immersed in warts, containing bacilliform conidia measuring 3-4 x 1 μm. [3]
Spot tests conducted on the upper cortex indicate K+ yellow, C-, KC-, P+ yellow reactions, whereas the medulla tests negative for K, C, KC, and P. The secondary metabolites identified include atranorin in the upper cortex, with sekikaic acid as the major compound, along with minor amounts of ramalinolic acid, and a few terpenes present in low concentrations in the medulla. [3]
Dirinaria confusa is frequently encountered on bark and wood, especially in proximity to coastal regions. Its distribution spans tropical and subtropical areas of North, Central, and South America, with notable occurrences in Texas. [1] [3]
Dirinaria confusa is classified as G5, [1] indicating a widespread and abundant species. [4]
Flavoparmelia baltimorensis, the rock greenshield lichen, is a medium to large foliose lichen with a yellow green upper thallus surface when dry; its lobes are rounded without pseudocyphellae; and the upper surface is covered with globose, pustule-like growths resembling isidia. The lower surface is black with a narrow brown zone at the margins.
Physcia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Physciaceae. The widely distributed genus contains about 80 species. The genus is cosmopolitan, and has been extensively studied in various regions in the past several decades, with significant biodiversity in South America identified as a central diversity hotspot. Physcia species are foliose, lobate lichens that grow with a loose to close appressed habit. Their upper surface is typically whitish, pale greenish, green-grey, or dark grey in colour. The thallus colour remains relatively unchanged when moistened. Physcia lichens typically grow on bark, on wood, or rock, although they have occasionally been recorded dwelling on man-made structures. They thrive in nutrient-rich environments and are expanding rapidly in urban areas of the United Kingdom previously affected by SO2 pollution.
Xanthoparmelia maricopensis, the Maricopa rock-shield, is a 2–6 cm (0.8–2.4 in) wide, yellow-green foliose lichen in the Parmeliaceae family. It grows on igneous rock in southwestern North American deserts.
Lecanora muralis(Protoparmeliopsis muralis) is a waxy looking, pale yellowish green crustose lichen that usually grows in rosettes radiating from a center (placodioid) filled with disc-like yellowish-tan fruiting bodies (apothecia). It grows all over the world. It is extremely variable in its characteristics as a single taxon, and may represent a complex of species. The fruiting body parts have rims of tissue similar to that of the main nonfruiting body (thallus), which is called being lecanorine. It is paler and greener than L. mellea, and more yellow than L. sierrae. In California, it may be the most common member of the Lecanora genus found growing on rocks (saxicolous).
Xanthoparmelia mexicana, commonly known as the salted rock-shield, is a foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows in 4–10 cm diameter rosettes of gray-green to yellow-green lobes in arid climates all over the world.
Hypogymnia congesta is a rare species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in China, it was formally described as a new species in 2003. The lichen grows on the bark and wood of conifers and bamboo. Hypogymnia congesta has a brown to brownish-grey foliose thallus measuring up to 8 cm (3.1 in) long or broad, with a cartilage-like texture. The lichen is chemically distinct, containing physodic acid and virensic acid; the latter substance is otherwise unknown from genus Hypogymnia.
Punctelia hypoleucites, commonly known as the southwestern speckled shield lichen, is a species of foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. First formally described by Finnish botanist William Nylander as a species of Parmelia, it was transferred to the genus Punctelia in 1982. The lichen is found in Africa, North America, and South America, where it grows on the bark of both hardwood and coniferous trees. Its greenish-grey thallus is covered with tiny white pseudocyphellae – minute holes in the thallus surface that facilitate gas exchange. Some macroscopic features that help distinguish this species from other related members of the genus include the presence and the structure of the apothecia, the absence of asexual surface propagules, and the light brown color of the thallus undersurface. Chemically, the presence of lecanoric acid in the medulla and atranorin in the cortex help distinguish it from lookalikes.
Punctelia bolliana, the eastern speckled shield lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in North America, with a distribution extending from the Canadian province of Ontario south to the central and northeastern United States and Mexico. It grows on the bark of both deciduous trees and coniferous trees. The combination of characteristics that distinguishes this species from others in genus Punctelia are the absence of the vegetative propagules isidia and soralia, a pale brown lower thallus surface, and the presence of the secondary chemical protolichesterinic acid in the medulla.
Punctelia perreticulata is a widely distributed species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It occurs in Mediterranean Europe and Russia, North America, South America, Australia, and New Zealand, where it grows on rocks, bark, or wood. Its main distinguishing features are its thallus surface, marked with many shallow depressions, grooves, or pits, and sorediate pseudocyphellae. The lower side of the thallus is ivory to tan towards the centre and the major secondary metabolite in the medulla is lecanoric acid. A lookalike species with which it has been historically confused is Punctelia subrudecta; this lichen can be distinguished from Punctelia perreticulata by the texture of the thallus surface, or, more reliably, by the length of its conidia.
Punctelia graminicola is a species of foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows on rocks, and, less frequently, on bark in North America, South America, and East Africa. It has a blue-grey thallus measuring up to about 15 cm (6 in), covered with tiny pores called pseudocyphellae. Sometimes the lichen forms small lobes that project out from the surface. Fruiting bodies are uncommon in this species; if present, they resemble small cups with a brown internal disc measuring 3–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) in diameter. A lookalike species, Punctelia hypoleucites, is not readily distinguishable from Punctelia graminicola by appearance or habitat alone; these species can only be reliably differentiated by examining the length of their conidia.
Hypogymnia krogiae, commonly known as the freckled tube lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in North America, it was described as a new species in 1973 by Karl Ohlsson. The type specimen was collected near Cheat Bridge, West Virginia by Mason Hale in 1956.
Parmelia fraudans is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Europe and North America, where it grows on rocks.
Parmotrema marcellianum is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found on the Galápagos Islands, it was formally described as a new species in 2019 by lichenologists Frank Bungartz and Adriano Spielmann. The type specimen was collected from Cerro Ventanas on Floreana Island at an altitude of 424 m (1,391 ft); there, it was found overgrowing pebbles on sun-, wind-, and rain-exposed ground. The species epithet honours the authors' colleague Marcelo Pinto Marcelli, "in recognition of his work on the lichen family Parmeliaceae".
Hypogymnia nitida is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It has a glossy dark brown upper surface and a strongly wrinkled, convoluted lower surface. Found in China, it was described as a new species in 2014.
Hypogymnia amplexa is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in the western United States and Canada.
Dirinaria aegialita is a species of foliose lichen in the family Caliciaceae. It is found in tropical regions around the world, with scattered occurrences in subtropical North America.
Dirinaria neotropica is a species of lichen belonging to the genus Dirinaria within the family Caliciaceae. It was described by Kalb in 2004.
Dirinaria confluens is a species of foliose lichen belonging to the genus Dirinaria within the family Caliciaceae. It was originally described by D.D.Awasthi in 1975.
Dirinaria picta is a species of lichen within the family Caliciaceae, classified under the order Caliciales in the class Lecanoromycetes of the division Ascomycota.
Dirinaria frostii is a species of lichen in the family Caliciaceae. It is commonly found in the southeastern United States and Sonora, Mexico. The species was first described by Tuckerman and later classified by Hale & Culberson.
