Verrucariaceae is a family of lichens and a few non-lichenised fungi in the order Verrucariales. The lichens have a wide variety of thallus forms, from crustose (crust-like) to foliose (bushy) and squamulose (scaly). Most of them grow on land, some in freshwater and a few in the sea. Many are free-living but there are some species that are parasites on other lichens, while one marine species always lives together with a leafy green alga.
Heteroplacidium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Verrucariaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Othmar Breuss in 1996 with Heteroplacidium imbricatum assigned as the type species. It was proposed as a segregate of Catapyrenium. Other morphologically similar genera are Neocatapyrenium, Placidium, and Scleropyrenium, although molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate that they are independent monophyletic lineages within the Verrucariaceae.
Phlyctis psoromica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. Native to New South Wales, Australia, it was described as new to science in 2011. This lichen is characterised by its whitish to pale blue-grey crustose thallus and distinctive secondary chemistry.
Hydropunctaria is a genus of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. The genus includes both aquatic and amphibious species, with members that colonise either marine or freshwater habitats. The type species, Hydropunctaria maura, was formerly classified in the large genus Verrucaria. It is a widely distributed species common to littoral zones. Including the type species, five Hydropunctaria lichens are considered marine species: H. adriatica, H. amphibia, H. aractina, H. orae, and H. oceanica.
Heteroplacidium zamenhofianum is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-eating) lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. As a juvenile, it is parasitic on some members of the lichen genus Staurothele, but later becomes independent and develops a brown, crustose thallus. Characteristic features of the lichen include its dark brown, somewhat squamulous thallus and relatively small ascospores. It is widely distributed in Europe and North America.
Atla is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. It has nine species that grow on rocks or on soil.
Phylloblastia is a genus of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1921 by Finnish lichenologist Edvard August Vainio, with Phylloblastia dolichospora assigned as the type species.
Staurothele elenkinii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It was described as new to science by Ukrainian lichenologist Alfred Oxner in 1927, from the steppes of Ukraine. In 2013 it was recorded from the northeast Caucasus, in Russia. It is also widespread on dry rocks in the North American west, ranging from the Northwest Territories south to the southwestern United States. It grows on shales, sandstones, and calcareous rocks.
Halospora is a genus of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungi in the family Verrucariaceae. Species in the genus parasitise calcicolous crustose lichens, i.e., those that prefer lime-rich substrates.
Verrucaria ahtii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in Finland, Lithuania, Russia, and Switzerland, where it occurs on calcareous pebbles.
Atla palicei is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Sweden, it was formally described as a new species in 2008 by Sanja Savić and Leif Tibell. The type specimen was collected in the Kärkevagge valley, where it was found near a stream growing on a west-facing calcareous boulder. It is only known to occur in the Torne Lappmark in Sweden at elevations between 410 and 650 m, but the authors suggest that it is "probably overlooked elsewhere". The lichen has a blackish-brown, scurfy thallus that is diffusely areolate, and ascospores measuring 43–51 by 23–26 μm.
Atla praetermissa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Scandinavia, it was formally described as a new species in 2008 by Sanja Savić and Leif Tibell. The type specimen was collected in Andersjöåforsen. In addition to Sweden, it has also been recorded in Norway; it grows on calcareous rocks near streams, at altitudes ranging from 165 to 955 m. The lichen has a superficial, thin and sometimes mesh-like, crustose thallus that is grey to dark green, sometimes with a brownish tinge. Its ascospores are narrowly ellipsoidal and measure 44.7–49.2 by 19.0–22.4 μm. Atla praetermissa has an unidentified green alga as a photobiont.
Bagliettoa marmorea is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is endolithic on calcareous rocks, meaning it grows under and around the rock crystals. The colour of the lichen is purple to pink, although sometimes it is grey with purple pigments visible only around the perithecia. It does not have a shield-shaped involucrellum, which is typical of several other species in genus Bagliettoa. The excipulum measures 0.2–0.3 mm in diameter and lacks colour other than the upper part, which is purple. Ascospores are 13–30 by 9–15 μm.
Trimmatothele is a genus of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. It has five species. The genus was formally published by lichenologist Alexander Zahlbruckner in 1903. The type species, Trimmatothele perquisita, was originally collected from Norway by Johannes M. Norman, who placed it in the genus Coniothele in 1868. Diagnostic characteristics of Trimmatothele include a thin thallus with a smooth surface; small perithecia that are partially immersed in the substrata and have an involucrellum; asci that contain multiple ascospores; and small, simple ascospores. Trimmatothele has been described as one of the most poorly known genera of lichens due to the rarity of its species, the few available herbarium specimens, and some missing type specimens.
Catapyrenium boccanum is a species of squamulose (scaley), rock-dwelling lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It grows on mortar or on calcareous rock. Its squamules are up to 4 mm wide, pale to dark brown with black margins and a black underside. Ascospores measure 11–15 by 5–8 μm. Because of its combination of squamulose thallus, simple ascospores, and lack of algae in the hymenium, this species is a "catapyrenioid" lichen, of which more than 80 exist in the Verrucariaceae.
Agonimia tenuiloba is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2013 by lichenologists André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by the authors in the Estação Ecológica de Cuniã (Rondônia), where it was found growing on smooth tree bark in a rainforest. The lichen thallus comprises tiny, green, fan-shaped (flabellate) lobes and spherical goniocysts. Its ascomata are in the form of perithecia that are 0.3–0.4 mm wide and grey in colour due to a thin thalline cover. Its ascospores typically measure 30–50 by 20–35 μm. The European species Agonimia flabelliformis is similar in morphology, but it has shorter and narrower ascospores.
Phylloblastia bielczykiae is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Bolivia, it was formally described as a new species in 2008 by lichenologists Adam Flakus and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected near lake Copaiba ; there, in an isolated island of lowland Amazon rainforest along a savanna, it was found growing on the leaves of a vascular plant. It is only known from the type locality. The species epithet honours the Polish lichenologist Urszula Bielczyk.
Phylloblastia fortuita is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Western Europe and North America, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by Esteve Llop and Antonio Gómez-Bolea. The type specimen was collected from Sant Medir at an altitude of 220 m (720 ft), where it was found growing on the leaves of Ilex aquifolium. The lichen, originally documented as occurring in the Mediterranean climate of the Iberian Peninsula, was reported from Marin County, California, in 2016. Other plants from which it has been documented include Buxus sempervirens, Hedera helix, Quercus ilex, and, in North America, Sequoia sempervirens.
Phylloblastia inexpectata is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Europe, it was formally described by lichenologists Emmanuël Sérusiaux, Brian John Coppins, and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected by the second author in Dunskey Glen Woods, where it was found growing on the leaves of a Prunus laurocerasus tree growing near a stream. It has also been collected in England, southern Italy, Madeira, and Spain.
Verrucaria viridula is a common and widely distributed species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Although it is a somewhat morphologically variable species, two persistent distinguishing characteristics are its relatively large perithecia, which are often curved into a beak, and its large ascospores.
