| Gyalolechia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gyalolechia flavovirescens | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Teloschistales |
| Family: | Teloschistaceae |
| Genus: | Gyalolechia A.Massal. |
| Type species | |
| Gyalolechia aurea (Schaer.) A.Massal. (1852) | |
Gyalolechia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. [1] It contains 18 species of crustose lichens.
The genus was circumscribed by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1852. He included two species: G. bracteata and G. aurea . [2] Although Massalongo did not designate a type species for the genus, Josef Poelt assigned G. aurea to that status in 1965. [3] After Massalongo introduced the monotypic genus Fulgensia in 1853, Gyalolechia fell out of use. [4]
Gyalolechia was resurrected for use by Ulf Arup and colleagues in 2013, as part of a molecular phylogenetics-based restructuring of the Teloschistaceae. Gyalolechia, which is sister to the genus Blastenia , contains most of the species formerly assigned to the genus Fulgensia , the species group centred around the taxon formerly known as Caloplaca flavorubescens, and other species that contain fragilin as the dominant lichen product. Twenty-five species were included in the new circumscription of the genus, [4] but this number has since diminished as several species have been transferred from it to other new genera, including Athallia , Cerothallia , Elenkiniana , Laundonia , Mikhtomia , Opeltia , and Oxneriopsis . [5] [6]
The thallus of Gyalolechia presents as a crust-like structure that can take on various forms, ranging from small scales to lobes resembling leaves. The cortex , or outer layer, of the lichen exhibits several distinct types:
Apothecia , the reproductive structures of the lichen, start as zeorine and may transition into a biatorine form. These structures are typically coloured in shades of orange to brownish-orange and contain anthraquinone compounds. The ascospores produced by Gyalolechia lichens exhibit variability in shape and structure. They can be polaridiblastic , meaning they have a short to long septum. Their walls are thin, and no visible channels are present. Spores can take on fusiform (spindle-shaped), narrowly to broadly ellipsoid (similar to an elongated oval), or pyriform (pear-shaped) shapes. Occasionally, these spores may exhibit a slight curvature. [4]
The pycnidia (structures associated with asexual reproduction) of Gyaloechia are typically orange and can be either unchambered or multi-chambered. The conidia , which are asexual spores produced within pycnidia, range in shape from bacilliform (rod-shaped) to ellipsoid. [4]
As of September 2023 [update] , Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) includes 18 species in Gyalolechia: [1]
