| Icmadophilaceae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Icmadophila ericetorum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Pertusariales |
| Family: | Icmadophilaceae Triebel (1993) |
| Type genus | |
| Icmadophila Trevis. (1853) | |
| Genera | |
Dibaeis Contents | |
The Icmadophilaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Pertusariales. The family was circumscribed in 1993 by the mycologist Dagmar Treibel. [1] It contains 9 genera and 35 species. [2]
Icmadophilaceae species are usually crust-like to shrub-like in form. Their photobiuont partner is chlorococcoid , which is crucial for their survival. Their apothecia (fruiiting bodies) are typically biatorine in form, meaning they have a light-coloured (not carbonised ) margin, and are often pink in colour. Some may have stalk-like structures, referred to as pseudopodetia . [3]
Within these reproductive structures, Icmadophilaceae lichens have unbranched filaments called paraphyses, which are amyloid. The asci, or spore sacs, in these lichens are thin-walled and lack a thickened top section (apical tholus ) but have a thin, amyloid cap at their tips. They are typically cylindrical in shape. [3]
Each ascus typically contains eight spores. These spores come in various shapes – ellipsoid, oblong, fusiform (spindle-shaped), to cutriform (knife-shaped) – and are clear (hyaline) and non-amyloid. In addition to spore reproduction, Icmadophilaceae lichens can also reproduce asexually through structures called pycnidia, which produce rod-shaped (bacillar), hyaline conidia (asexual spores). [3]
In terms of chemical composition, this family is characterised by a variety of depsides, a type of secondary metabolite (lichen product) commonly found in lichens. [3]
The Arthoniaceae are a family of lichenized, lichenicolous and saprobic fungi in the order Arthoniales. The Arthoniaceae is the largest family of Arthoniales, with around 800 species. Most species in Arthoniaceae belong in Arthonia which is the largest genus with 500 species. The second and third largest genus is Arthothelium with 80 species, and Cryptothecia with 60 species.
The Roccellaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the order Arthoniales, established by the French botanist François Fulgis Chevallier in 1826. Species in the family exhibit various growth forms, including crustose and fruticose (shrub-like) thalli, and diverse reproductive structures. Roccellaceae species typically have disc-like or slit-like fruiting bodies, often with distinct blackened margins. Molecular phylogenetics studies have revealed considerable genetic diversity and complex evolutionary histories within the family.
The Ramalinaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Lecanorales. First proposed by Carl Adolph Agardh in 1821, the family now comprises 63 genera and about 750 species. Ramalinaceae lichens exhibit diverse growth forms, including crustose, fruticose, squamulose, leprose, and byssoid thalli, and form symbiotic relationships primarily with green algae of the genus Trebouxia. The family is characterised by pale-coloured thalli, apothecia that are typically pale but may darken with age, and ascospores that vary in shape and septation.
The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, although its members occur predominantly in temperate regions. Most members are lichens that either live on rock or on bark, but about 40 species are lichenicolous – meaning they are non-lichenised fungi that live on other lichens. Many members of the Teloschistaceae are readily identifiable by their vibrant orange to yellow hue, a result of their frequent anthraquinone content. The presence of these anthraquinone pigments, which confer protection from ultraviolet light, enabled this group to expand from shaded forest habitats to harsher environmental conditions of sunny and arid ecosystems during the Late Cretaceous.
Gloeoheppiaceae is a family of ascomycete fungi in the order Lichinales. The family contains ten species distributed amongst three genera. Most species are lichenised with cyanobacteria. Species in this family are mostly found in desert areas. Modern molecular phylogenetics analysis casts doubt on the phylogenetic validity of the family, suggesting a more appropriate placement of its species in the family Lichinaceae.
The Pertusariales are an order of fungi in the class Lecanoromycetes, comprising 8 families, 31 genera, and over 600 species, many of which form lichens. This diverse group is characterized by complex taxonomic history and ongoing phylogenetic revisions. Originally proposed by Maurice Choisy in 1949 and later formally published by the lichenologists David L. Hawksworth and Ove Eriksson in 1986, Pertusariales has undergone significant reclassification due to molecular phylogenetics studies. The order includes well-known genera such as Pertusaria and Ochrolechia, as well as families like Megasporaceae and Icmadophilaceae.
The Gomphillaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. Species in this family are found mostly in tropical regions.
The Graphidaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. The family contains nearly a hundred genera and more than 2000 species. Although the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, most Graphidaceae species occur in tropical regions, and typically grow on bark.
The Stictidaceae are a family of fungi in the order Ostropales. It has 30 genera and about 240 species.
Aphanopsidaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Lecanorales. It contains the genera Aphanopsis and Steinia, comprising five species. The family was circumscribed in 1995 by the lichenologists Christian Printzen and Gerhard Rambold.
Candelariaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Candelariales. It contains seven genera and about 73 species.
The Caliciaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. Although the family has had its classification changed several times throughout its taxonomic history, the use of modern molecular phylogenetic methods have helped to establish its current placement in the order Caliciales. Caliciaceae contains 39 genera and about 670 species. The largest genus is Buellia, with around 300 species; there are more than a dozen genera that contain only a single species.
Siphula is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Icmadophilaceae. The widespread genus was circumscribed by the Swedish mycologist Elias Fries in 1831.
Siphulella is a fungal genus in the family Icmadophilaceae. The genus is monotypic, containing the single lichen species Siphulella coralloidea, found in southwest Tasmania. The genus and species were described as new to science in 1992 by Gintaras Kantvilas, John Elix and Peter James. The genus name is based on the superficial resemblance that S. coralloidea has to some species in the genus Siphula.
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.
Hertelidea is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Stereocaulaceae. Characteristics of the genus include carbon-black ring or outer margin (exciple) around the fruit body disc (apothecium), eight-spored, Micarea-type asci and mostly simple, hyaline ascospores that lack a transparent outer layer. Hertelidea species mostly grow on wood, although less frequently they are found on bark or soil. While the type species, Hertelidea botryosa, has a widespread distribution, most of the other species are found only in Australia.
Eilifdahlia sergeyana is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is endemic to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The lichen thallus has an uneven and scaly texture, forming patches up to 40 mm wide in dull greenish-grey or brownish-grey. Its fruiting bodies (apothecia) are orange to yellow, with a biatorine structure, and range from 0.5 to 1 mm wide. These apothecia have a matte surface and a cup-shaped margin containing golden-yellow crystals. The paraphyses within are slender and branched, and the asci contain ellipsoid spores.
Filsoniana ferdinandmuelleri is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in Australia. The lichen has a squamulose (scaly) thallus, with a range of bright yellow to greenish-yellow and brownish-orange colours in its soredia and apothecia, respectively. The areoles of this lichen are varied in size, slightly raised from the thallus surface, and each carries one to four apothecia. The soralia are rounded or irregularly shaped, covering most of the thallus surface as a yellow to greenish-yellow mass. The apothecia have dark brownish-orange discs, surrounded by slightly paler yellow margins, with the spore-bearing asci containing typically eight brownish-golden ascospores.
Siphulopsis is a single-species fungal genus in the family Icmadophilaceae. This monotypic genus the contains the fruticose lichen species Siphulopsis queenslandica, found in Australia. This lichen was originally described by Gintaras Kantvilas in 2018. He tentatively classified it in the genus Knightiella due to morphological similarities with Knightiella eucalypti, but molecular phylogenetics revealed it to constitute a distinct lineage.
Melanotopelia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has four species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens. This genus includes species characterised by dark pigmentation in their exciple, non-amyloid ascospores, and specific secondary metabolites.