| Melanelia microglabra | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Parmeliaceae |
| Genus: | Melanelia |
| Species: | M. microglabra |
| Binomial name | |
| Melanelia microglabra | |
Melanelia microglabra is a rare species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. [1] It is found in high-elevation locations in Sikkim, India.
The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2003 by lichenologists Pradeep Divakar, Dalip Kumar Upreti, Gopal Prasad Sinha, and John Elix. The type specimen was collected by the third author in the Llonakh valley of Mangan district in Sikkim, at an altitude of 4,500 m (14,800 ft). It is named for its similarity to the bark-dwelling Australian species Melanelia pseudoglabra , from which it differs by its smaller thallus, narrower lobes, substrate preference, and chemistry. [2]
The foliose thallus of Melanelia microglabra, which is somewhat loosely attached to its rock substrate , has a leathery texture and reaches a diameter of up to 1.5 cm (0.6 in). The individual lobes comprising the thallus measure 0.2–1.0 mm wide, with incised tips and lacking any cilia at the margins. The upper thallus surface is brown to black, with a rugulose to warty texture, and lacking isidia, soredia, pustules , pseudocyphellae, apothecia and pycnidia, while the lower thallus surface is black, with brown apices. The rhizines are sparse, simple , and black. [2]
Melanelia microglabra contains gyrophoric acid and a major metabolite, ovoic acid as a submajor substance, and both lecanoric acid and 2-O-methyllecanoric acid and minor components. The expected results of standard chemical spot tests are K−, HNO3+ (pale red) in the cortex , and K−, C+ (pink), KC+ (red), and P− in the medulla. [2]
At the time of its original publication, Melanelia microglabra had only been collected at the type locality. [2] It has since been enumerated as one of the approximately 200 lichen taxa recorded in the Kangchenjunga biosphere reserve in the eastern Himalayas. [3]
Parmelia is a genus of medium to large foliose lichens. It has a global distribution, extending from the Arctic to the Antarctic continent but concentrated in temperate regions. There are about 40 species in Parmelia. In recent decades, the once large genus Parmelia has been divided into a number of smaller genera according to thallus morphology and phylogenetic relatedness.
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.
Melanelia is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Ted Esslinger in 1978.
Myelochroa is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. They are commonly known as axil-bristle lichens. It was created in 1987 to contain species formerly placed in genus Parmelina that had a yellow-orange medulla due to the presence of secalonic acids. Characteristics of the genus include tightly attached thalli with narrow lobes, cilia on the axils, and a rhizinate black lower surface. Chemical characteristics are the production of zeorin and related triterpenoids in the medulla. Myelochroa contains about 30 species, most of which grow on bark. The genus has centres of distribution in Asia and North America.
Melanohalea is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains 30 mostly Northern Hemisphere species that grow on bark or on wood. The genus is characterized by the presence of pseudocyphellae, usually on warts or on the tips of isidia, a non-pored epicortex and a medulla containing depsidones or lacking secondary compounds. Melanohalea was circumscribed in 2004 as a segregate of the morphologically similar genus Melanelia.
Melanelixia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains 15 Northern Hemisphere species that grow on bark or on wood. The genus is characterized by a pored or fenestrate epicortex, and the production of lecanoric acid as the primary chemical constituent of the medulla. Melanelixia was circumscribed in 2004 as a segregate of the related genus Melanelia.
Parmotrema is a genus of lichen belonging to the family Parmeliaceae. It is a large genus, containing an estimated 300 species, with a centre of diversity in subtropical regions of South America and the Pacific Islands.
Esslingeriana is a fungal genus in the family Parmeliaceae. The genus is monotypic, containing the single foliose lichen species Esslingeriana idahoensis, commonly known as the tinted rag lichen. It is found in northwestern North America.
Relicina colombiana is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in high-elevation páramo of the Eastern Cordillera in Colombia, it was described as new to science in 2011.
Austroparmelina is a genus of foliose lichens in the large family Parmeliaceae. It contains species formerly placed in the genera Parmelina and Canoparmelia. All species of Austroparmelina have an Australasian-South African distribution.
Emodomelanelia is a lichen genus in the family Parmeliaceae. It is monotypic, containing the single foliose Himalayan species Emodomelanelia masonii.
Austromelanelixia is a genus of five species of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. All species are found in the Southern Hemisphere.
Hypotrachyna vainioi is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Brazil.
Melanohalea nilgirica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in India, it was described as a new species in 2005 by lichenologists Pradeep Divakar and Dalip Kumar Upreti. The type was collected from the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu, at an elevation of 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Its thallus is about 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter, with a reddish-brown to dark brown upper surface. It is characterized by flat, dot-like pseudocyphellae that are flush with the lobe surface, white capitate soralia, and presence of caperatic acid. This is the only known occurrence of this compound in the genus Melanohalea.
Punctelia transtasmanica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Australasia.
Punctelia nebulata is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 1988 by lichenologists John A. Elix and Jen Johnston. The type was collected in New South Wales, on a roadside north of Gilgandra. The lichen grows on Callitris trees in semi-arid, inland regions of southern Australia.
Parmelia hygrophiloides is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in India, it was described as a new species in 2003 by lichenologists Pradeep Divakar, Dalip Kumar Upreti, and John Elix. The type specimen was collected in the Parbati River Valley in Himachal Pradesh, at an elevation of 2,400 m (7,900 ft); here it was found growing on the trunk of a pine tree.
Parmelia mayi is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in the northern Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America, where it grows on rocks and on the trunks of paper birch and balsam fir. Parmelia mayi is morphologically indistinguishable from Parmelia saxatilis, but is distinct in its distribution, chemistry, and genetics.
Parmotrema upretii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in India, it was described as new to science in 2003 by Pradeep Divakar. The type specimen was collected near Banjar in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, India at an altitude of 1,700 m (5,600 ft), where it was found growing on rock. The species epithet honours Indian lichenologist Dalip Kumar Upreti, who collected the type specimen.
Flavoparmelia virensica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose lichen found in Western Australia, newly described in 2010. This species, belonging to the large family Parmeliaceae, is similar in appearance to Flavoparmelia rutidota and F. caperatula, but can be distinguished by its spindle-shaped conidia and significant quantities of virensic acid. The lichen grows on dead and burnt wood as well as the bark of trees from the genera Allocasuarina, Acacia, and Hakea.