Parmelia is a genus of medium to large foliose lichens. It has a global distribution, extending from the Arctic to the Antarctic continent but concentrated in temperate regions. There are about 40 species in Parmelia. In recent decades, the once large genus Parmelia has been divided into a number of smaller genera according to thallus morphology and phylogenetic relatedness.
The Parmeliaceae is a large and diverse family of Lecanoromycetes. With over 2700 species in 71 genera, it is the largest family of lichen-forming fungi. The most speciose genera in the family are the well-known groups: Xanthoparmelia, Usnea, Parmotrema, and Hypotrachyna.
Irwin M. Brodo is an emeritus scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is an authority on the identification and biology of lichens. Irwin Brodo was honored in 1994 with an Acharius Medal presented to him by the International Association for Lichenology.
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.
Pseudephebe is a genus of fruticose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains three species that grow on rocks.
Vulpicida is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. Circumscribed in 1993 to contain species formerly placed in Cetraria, the genus is widespread in Arctic to northern temperate regions, and contains six species. The genus is characterized by the presence of the secondary metabolites pulvinic acid and vulpinic acid, compounds that when combined with usnic acid, give the species their characteristic yellow and green colors.
Nodobryoria is a genus of medium to large, reddish-brown lichens that are hair-like to shrubby in shape and grow on conifer trees. The genus contains three species, distributed in North America and Greenland, which were previously included in the genus Bryoria. Nodobryoria is similar in appearance to Bryoria, but is differentiated because it does not contain the polysaccharide lichenin, and it has a unique cortex composed of interlocking cells that look like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle when viewed under a light microscope.
Pseudocyphellae are structures in lichens that appear as tiny pores on the outer surface of the lichen. They are caused when there is a break in the cortex of the lichen, and the medullary hyphae extend to the surface. Pseudocyphellae are the same colour as the medulla of the lichen, which is generally white, but can be yellow in some species of Pseudocyphellaria and in Bryoria fremontii. The presence/absence, abundance, colour, and shape of pseudocyphellae can all be diagnostic features used to identify different species. They facilitate gas exchange through the surface of the lichen, and may provide an adaptive advantage in temperate environments.
Bryoria is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. Many members of this genus are known as horsehair lichens. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in boreal and cool temperate areas.
Esslingeriana is a fungal genus in the family Parmeliaceae. The genus is monotypic, containing the single foliose lichen species Esslingeriana idahoensis, commonly known as the tinted rag lichen. It is found in northwestern North America.
Lichens are symbiotic organisms made up of multiple species: a fungus, one or more photobionts and sometimes a yeast. They are regularly grouped by their external appearance – a characteristic known as their growth form. This form, which is based on the appearance of vegetative part of the lichen, varies depending on the species and the environmental conditions it faces. Those who study lichens (lichenologists) have described a dozen of these forms: areolate, byssoid, calicioid, cladoniform, crustose, filamentous, foliose, fruticose, gelatinous, leprose, placoidioid and squamulose. Traditionally, crustose (flat), foliose (leafy) and fruticose (shrubby) are considered to be the three main forms. In addition to these more formalised, traditional growth types, there are a handful of informal types named for their resemblance to the lichens of specific genera. These include alectorioid, catapyrenioid, cetrarioid, hypogymnioid, parmelioid and usneoid.
Protoparmelia badia is a species of crustose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is a widely distributed, common species that grows on rocks.
Punctelia appalachensis, commonly known as the Appalachian speckled shield lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in the eastern United States and eastern Canada. The lichen was first formally described in 1962 by lichenologist William Culberson as a species of Parmelia. He collected the type specimen growing on tree bark in West Virginia, Hildur Krog transferred it to the newly circumscribed genus Punctelia in 1982.
Flavopunctelia flaventior is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first formally described as a new species by James Stirton in 1877 as Parmelia flaventior. In 1982, Hildur Krog transferred it to the subgenus Flavopunctelia of her newly circumscribed genus Punctelia, created to contain Parmelia species with punctate (point-like) pseudocyphellae. Mason Hale raised this subgenus to generic status a couple of years later, setting Flavopunctelia flaventior as the type species of the new genus. The lichen is commonly known as the speckled greenshield. Flavopunctelia flaventior occurs in Asia, Europe, East Africa, North America, and South America.
Flavopunctelia praesignis is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first described as Parmelia praesignis by Finnish botanist William Nylander in 1872. In 1982, Hildur Krog transferred it to the subgenus Flavopunctelia of her newly circumscribed genus Punctelia, created to contain Parmelia species with punctate (point-like) pseudocyphellae. Mason Hale raised this subgenus to generic status a couple of years later. The lichen is colloquially known as the fruiting speckled greenshield. It is found in the southern United States, in various states of Mexico, and in South America. It has also been reported from Kenya, but that may be due to misidentification.
Bryoria kockiana is a species of horsehair lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in North America, where it grows from the branches of conifer trees.
Gowardia zebrina is a rare species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Canada, it was formally described as a new species in 2020 by lichenologists Trevor Goward and Leena Myllys. The type specimen was collected by Goward on Mount Cain at an altitude of 1,440 m (4,720 ft). Here the lichen was found growing on the lower branches of a hemlock tree. The specific epithet zebrina refers to the diagnostic alternating pale and dark banding pattern of the terminal branches. The lichen has a limited distribution, as it is only known to occur in coastal northwest North America, extending from the Insular Mountains of southern Vancouver Island north to Hazelton. Its preferred habitat is in open, wind-scoured old growth forests, and its preferred substrate is the trunks and lower branches of conifer trees like fir and hemlock.
Gowardia nigricans, commonly known as the gray hair lichen or gray witch's hair, is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.
Gowardia arctica is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), fruticose (bushy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in arctic regions of Northern Canada and Russia, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by Pekka Halonen, Leena Myllys, Saara Velmala, and Heini Hyvärinen. The type specimen was collected from Banks Island in Swan Lake ; here, at an elevation of 100 m (330 ft), it was found growing among mesic mountain heath. It also occurs along the Arctic Ocean coast of Russia. The lichen is richly branched, black to black-brown in colour, and reaches up to 13 cm (5.1 in) in diameter. It contains alectorialic acid and two other unknown lichen products.
Sulcaria spiralifera is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in the northwestern United States, where it grows as an epiphyte, hanging from a variety of tree species in open or shaded maritime forests.
