| Fulgidea | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Umbilicariales |
| Family: | Umbilicariaceae |
| Genus: | Fulgidea Bendiksby & Timdal (2013) |
| Type species | |
| Fulgidea oligospora (Timdal) Bendiksby & Timdal (2013) | |
| Species | |
Fulgidea is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Umbilicariaceae. [1] It has two species of squamulose lichens that grow on bark and on wood. [2]
The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by the Norwegian lichenologists Mika Bendiksby and Einar Timdal. They assigned Fulgidea oligospora as the type species. The genus name Fulgidea is derived from the Latin word fulgur, meaning "lightning", alluding to its preference for growing on burnt wood. The name also reflects its morphological similarities to species within the genus Lecidea . Both species of Fulgidea had previously been classified in the genus Hypocenomyce . [3]
Genus Fulgidea is characterized by its squamulose thallus, which is closely attached or slightly raised and oriented against gravity. The thallus ranges in color from greyish-green to dark brown and can have either a dull or shiny appearance. It lacks a pruinose coating (a fine powdery surface layer that sometimes appears frosted) and does not have a hypothallus , which is an underlying layer of hyphae that can sometimes be visible at the lichen's periphery. [3]
The apothecia (fruiting bodies) of Fulgidea are black, flat, and maintain a distinct margin. They lack a pruinose covering. The exciple , which is the tissue surrounding the apothecium, is made up of tightly bonded, relatively thin-walled hyphae that are ellipsoid to shortly cylindrical in shape. The inner parts and rim of the exciple are blackish brown, and the pigment partially dissolves in potassium hydroxide solution (K) resulting in a brown coloration, but does not react to nitrogen tests (N−). The epihymenium —the uppermost layer of cells in the apothecium—is brown and contains amorphous substances that also dissolve to release a brown effusion when treated with K. [3]
The ascus (spore-bearing structure) is narrowly rhombic with an amyloid cap at the tip. The amyloid reaction is a staining reaction used to identify certain chemical properties of lichen tissues. The cap includes a small, amyloid tholus —a structure within the ascus tip—with a non-amyloid central plug. Pycnidia, which are asexual reproductive structures, have brown walls. The pycnoconidia (asexual spores), are rod-shaped, measuring 7–10 μm in length and about 1 μm in width. [3]
Chemically, Fulgidea species contain alectorialic and thamnolic acids, which are secondary metabolites (lichen products) specific to certain lichens and contribute to their biochemical characteristics. [3]
The genus Fulgidea is primarily distinguished from Hypocenomyce by its exciple structure. In Hypocenomyce, the exciple is colorless internally and green at the rim (K−, N+ violet), and is only partially conglutinated with hyphae separated by lecanoric acid crystals (C+ red). Additionally, Hypocenomyce features a green epihymenium and pycnidium wall that react positively to violet staining with N and contains lecanoric acid, unlike Fulgidea which lacks amorphous substances. The pycnoconidia in Hypocenomyce are generally longer, ranging from bacilliform to filiform in shape. [3]
Contrasting with Pycnora , Fulgidea has an ascus that is narrowly rhombic with an amyloid cap and a small amyloid tholus with a non-amyloid central plug, whereas Pycnora has a broadly clavate (club-shaped) ascus without an amyloid cap but with a well-developed, amyloid tholus and a deeper amyloid area along the wall. Additionally, Pycnora has a strictly crustose thallus and a green epihymenium that turns violet with N and dissolves in K, with shorter pycnoconidia that are more or less spherical to shortly bacilliform. Elixia , another genus, differs from Fulgidea as it forms a crustose or endoxylic thallus, with star-shaped to lirelloid apothecia, capitate paraphyses with a distinct pigment zone at the top of the apical cell, and lacks secondary compounds. [3] Xylopsora , another genus in the Umbilicariaceae, is morphologically, anatomically and ecologically similar to Fulgidea and differs mainly in secondary chemistry: it contains friesiic acid rather than alectorialic and thamnolic acids. [4]
Psora is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Psoraceae. Members of the genus are commonly called fishscale lichens. Lichens in the genus Psora generally have a squamulose thallus and anthraquinones in the hymenium. Photobiont partners of Psora lichens include members of the green algal genera Asterochloris, Chloroidium, Myrmecia, and Trebouxia.
Japewia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Lecanoraceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1990 by the Norwegian lichenologist Tor Tønsberg, who assigned J. tornoënsis as the type species. The new genus is named in honour of Peter Wilfred James, a notable lichenologist, with Japewia being derived from the first letters of his initials (Ja) and his surname (Pe) followed by a typical Latin suffix (-wia).
Pycnora is a genus of fungi in the monotypic family Pycnoraceae. It contains three species. The genus was circumscribed by Josef Hafellner in 2001; the family was proposed by Mika Bendiksby and Einar Timdal in 2013.
The Umbilicariales are an order of lichenized fungi in the subclass Umbilicariomycetidae, class Lecanoromycetes. It contains five families: Elixiaceae, Fuscideaceae, Ophioparmaceae, Ropalosporaceae, and Umbilicariaceae. Umbilicariales was proposed as a new order in 2007, while the subclass Umbilicariomycetidae was proposed in 2013.
Fuscideaceae is a family of fungi that form symbiotic] relationships with algae to create lichens. These lichens typically have a crust-like appearance and are found worldwide, though they are most common in temperate regions. The family includes five genera and about 55 species, which primarily grow on tree bark, rocks, or occasionally on wood or leaves. Fuscideaceae lichens are characterised by their reproductive structures, cup-like formations called apothecia, which can vary in colour from red to dark brown or black. The family has undergone several changes in its classification over the years, with recent genetic studies placing it within the order Umbilicariales. Fuscideaceae lichens produce various chemical compounds, some of which are unique to this family, and these chemicals are often used to help identify different species.
Hypocenomyce is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ophioparmaceae. Species in the genus grow on bark and on wood, especially on burned tree stumps and trunks in coniferous forest. Hypocenomyce lichens are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere.
The Tephromelataceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the order Lecanorales. The family was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 1984. Tephromelataceae comprises the genera Tephromela, Calvitimela, Mycoblastus and Violella, which together constitute a well-supported monophyletic group.
Bibbya is a genus of fruticose lichens in the family Ramalinaceae.
Sporastatiaceae is a small family of crustose lichens in the order Rhizocarpales. It contains two genera, Sporastatia and Toensbergia, with a total of five species. Sporastatiaceae was circumscribed in 2013 by Mika Bendiksby and Ernst Timdal.
Toensbergia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Sporastatiaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Mika Bendiksby and Einar Timdal in 2013. The genus name honours Norwegian lichenologist Tor Tønsberg, "in appreciation of his important work on sorediate, corticolous lichens". The type species is Toensbergia leucococca, which was formerly classified in genus Hypocenomyce, presumably due to its resemblance to Hypocenomyce xanthococca.
The Rhizocarpales are an order of lichen-forming fungi in the subclass Lecanoromycetidae of the class Lecanoromycetes. It has two families, Rhizocarpaceae and Sporastatiaceae, which contain mostly crustose lichens.
Carbonicola is a small genus of lichen-forming fungi. It is the sole genus in the monogeneric family Carbonicolaceae. The genus, which collectively has an almost cosmopolitan distribution, contains three squamulose lichens that prefer to grow on burned wood in temperate areas of the world.
Phyllopsora concinna is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), squamulose (scaley) lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. Found in Central and South America, it was formally described as a new species in 2019 by lichenologists Sonja Kistenich and Einar Timdal. The lichen has a scaley, effuse (spread-out) thallus that is pale green with a well-developed, white prothallus. Apothecia occur rarely; they are brownish with a paler margin, measuring up to 1 mm in diameter. Ascospores are simple with a narrow ellipsoid to fusiform shape, and dimensions of 12.5–16·0 by 3.5–4.0 μm. Atranorin and parvifoliellin are major lichen products that occur in this species. The latter compound distinguishes it chemically from the morphologically similar species Phyllopsora cinchonarum, which instead contains lobaric acid. The botanical name concinna, refers to its "beautiful" appearance.
Placolecis kunmingensis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Catillariaceae. It is found in Yunnan, China. The lichen is characterised by a thallus that is areolate to squamulose in its centre, forming irregular patches or clumps 10–50 mm wide, as well as its ellipsoid or spherical ascospores with slightly thickened wall.
Porpidinia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Lecideaceae. It has two species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) lichens. The type species of the genus, Porpidinia tumidula, thrives in a variety of settings from coastal to mountainous areas, primarily on lime-rich rocks, and is widely spread across southern to northern Europe, northern Africa, parts of Asia, and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Porpidinia brevispora is more regionally confined, found specifically in the Sikhote-Alin range in the Russian Far East, favouring carbonate rocks at lower altitudes.
Xylopsora canopeorum is a squamulose (scaly), corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen species in the family Umbilicariaceae. Discovered in the canopies of Sequoia sempervirens in California, United States, it was formally described as new to science in 2018. It is endemic to the central coastal region of California, living within the unique ecosystems of Big Basin Redwoods State Park and Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, areas known for their ancient coast redwood forests. The lichen evolves from a crust-like to scale-like form, developing into coral-like crusts as it matures, complemented by distinctive flat, black reproductive discs. This species has varying greyish-green to medium brown coloration and occasionally forms soralia, which release powdery reproductive propagules called soredia. Xylopsora canopeorum is distinguished from closely related species by its smaller, partly coral-like squamules (scales), the occurrence of soralia on its surface, and in some specimens, the presence of both thamnolic and friesiic acids within the thallus.
Lecidea toensbergii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Lecideaceae. Described as a new species in 2018, it has been documented from several locations in Norway and a single location in Sweden, where it grows in rocky alpine environments.
Romjularia is a fungal genus in the family Lecideaceae, containing the single species Romjularia lurida, a saxicolous and terricolous squamulose lichen.
Meridianelia is a fungal genus in the family Elixiaceae. It consists of the single species Meridianelia maccarthyana, a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen. This lichen forms greyish-white, crust-like growths on tree bark in subalpine woodlands of Tasmania, Australia. Discovered in 2003 and scientifically described in 2009, Meridianelia is classified in the small fungal family Elixiaceae based on its genetic and structural characteristics. The genus is notable for its unique reproductive structures and its apparent rarity, having been found in only a few locations despite growing in a relatively common type of forest.
Boreoplaca is a fungal genus in the family Ophioparmaceae. It comprises the single species Boreoplaca ultrafrigida, a saxicolous (rock-dwelling), squamulose lichen. Both the genus and species were described in 1994 by the Norwegian lichenologist Einar Timdal. The lichen is found in Eastern Siberia, the Russian Far East as well as in adjacent territories of north-east China, and in South Korea. The main characteristics of the lichen are its squamulose thallus, black lecideine apothecia, and Fuscidea-type asci.