| 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 photobiont 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]