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.
Lethariella is a genus of fruticose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. The genus was originally proposed as a subgenus of Usnea by Polish lichenologist Józef Motyka in his 1936 monograph of that genus. Norwegian botanist Hildur Krog elevated the taxon to generic status in 1976.
Hypogymnia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. They are commonly known as tube lichens, bone lichens, or pillow lichens. Most species lack rhizines that are otherwise common in members of the Parmeliaceae, and have swollen lobes that are usually hollow. Other common characteristics are relatively small spores and the presence of physodic acid and related lichen products. The lichens usually grow on the bark and wood of coniferous trees.
Cetrelia is a genus of leafy lichens in the large family Parmeliaceae. They are commonly known as sea-storm lichens, alluding to the wavy appearance of their lobes. The name of the genus, circumscribed in 1968 by the husband and wife lichenologists William and Chicita Culberson, alludes to the former placement of these species in the genera Cetraria and Parmelia.
Punctelia is a genus of foliose lichens belonging to the large family Parmeliaceae. The genus, which contains about 50 species, was segregated from genus Parmelia in 1982. Characteristics that define Punctelia include the presence of hook-like to thread-like conidia, simple rhizines, and point-like pseudocyphellae. It is this last feature that is alluded to in the vernacular names speckled shield lichens or speckleback lichens.
Thamnolia is a genus of lichens in the family Icmadophilaceae. Members of the genus are commonly called whiteworm lichens.
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.
Edith Katherine Cash was an American mycologist and lichenologist.
Lethariella cladonioides, locally known as lu xin xue cha or hong xue cha, is a fruticose lichenized species of fungus in the family Parmeliaceae. It is distributed throughout Southwest and Northwest China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Kashmir. It is used as traditional medicine and health-promoting tea in China for treatment and prevention of sore throats, high blood pressure, inflammation, dizziness and neurasthenia.
Bryoria hengduanensis is a species of lichen of the genus Bryoria. It was described as new to science in 2003 by lichenologists Li-Song Wang and Hiroshi Harada. It is found in the Hengduan Mountains of southern China, where it grows on twigs and branches in coniferous forests at elevations of 3,000–4,000 metres (9,800–13,100 ft). The Hengduan Mountains is a region of high Bryoria biodiversity, as 24 species are known from this area.
Hypogymnia congesta is a rare species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in China, it was formally described as a new species in 2003. The lichen grows on the bark and wood of conifers and bamboo. Hypogymnia congesta has a brown to brownish-grey foliose thallus measuring up to 8 cm (3.1 in) long or broad, with a cartilage-like texture. The lichen is chemically distinct, containing physodic acid and virensic acid; the latter substance is otherwise unknown from genus Hypogymnia.
Punctelia rudecta, commonly known as the rough speckled shield or the speckleback lichen, is a North American species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. This species can be readily identified by the light color of the thallus underside, the relatively large lobes at the edges of the thallus, and the tiny white pores present on the top of the thallus that are characteristic of the genus Punctelia. The lichen is quite abundant and widespread in the eastern and southeastern United States, although it also occurs in Canada and northern Mexico, but is less common in these regions. The lichen usually grows on bark, and less commonly on shaded rocks. There are several lookalike Punctelia species; these can often be distinguished from P. rudecta by differences in distribution or in the nature of the reproductive structures present on the thallus.
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.
Punctelia hypoleucites, commonly known as the southwestern speckled shield lichen, is a species of foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. First formally described by Finnish botanist William Nylander as a species of Parmelia, it was transferred to the genus Punctelia in 1982. The lichen is found in Africa, North America, and South America, where it grows on the bark of both hardwood and coniferous trees. Its greenish-grey thallus is covered with tiny white pseudocyphellae – minute holes in the thallus surface that facilitate gas exchange. Some macroscopic features that help distinguish this species from other related members of the genus include the presence and the structure of the apothecia, the absence of asexual surface propagules, and the light brown color of the thallus undersurface. Chemically, the presence of lecanoric acid in the medulla and atranorin in the cortex help distinguish it from lookalikes.
Punctelia graminicola is a species of foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows on rocks, and, less frequently, on bark in North America, South America, and East Africa. It has a blue-grey thallus measuring up to about 15 cm (6 in), covered with tiny pores called pseudocyphellae. Sometimes the lichen forms small lobes that project out from the surface. Fruiting bodies are uncommon in this species; if present, they resemble small cups with a brown internal disc measuring 3–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) in diameter. A lookalike species, Punctelia hypoleucites, is not readily distinguishable from Punctelia graminicola by appearance or habitat alone; these species can only be reliably differentiated by examining the length of their conidia.
Punctelia borreri is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is a common and widely distributed species, occurring in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America. The lichen typically grows on bark of deciduous trees, and less commonly on rock. Some European countries have reported increases in the geographic range or regional frequency of the lichen in recent decades, attributed alternatively to a reduction of atmospheric sulphur dioxide levels or an increase in temperatures resulting from climate change.
Myelochroa salazinica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in China, it was described as a new species in 2001 by Sheng-Lan Wang, Jian-Bin Chen, and John Alan Elix.
Lethariella canariensis is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first formally described as a new species in 1810 by Swedish lichenologist Erik Acharius, as Alectoria canariensis. After having been transferred to several genera in its taxonomic history, it was placed in the genus Lethariella by Hildur Krog in 1976. It occurs on the Canary Islands.
Lethariella sinensis is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was formally described as a new species in 1982 by Chinese lichenologists Jiang-Chun Wei and Yu-Mei Jiang. The type specimen was collected from Qamdo at an altitude of 4,300 m (14,100 ft); there, it was found growing on the branch of Thuja. It is an orange, long pendant lichen with a reticulate surface. In 2001, Walter Obermayer showed that the holotype specimen of Lethariella sinensis comprised two chemically unique taxa: one with psoromic acid and the other with norstictic acid. The former was chosen as the lectotype, and as a consequence, Lethariella mieheana became synonymous with L. sinensis.
