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.
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.
Tuckermanella is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Parmeliaceae.
Mason Ellsworth Hale, Jr. was one of the most prolific lichenologists of the 20th century. Many of his scholarly articles focused on the taxonomy of the family Parmeliaceae. Hale was one of the first lichen experts to incorporate secondary chemistry and technology such as computers and scanning electron microscopy into taxonomic work. Mason Hale published approximately two hundred articles and books on various aspects of lichen biology including taxonomy, anatomy, chemistry, and ecology. Hale also wrote several books aimed at education and increasing accessibility to lichens.
Melanohalea zopheroa is a species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first formally described in 1977 by Ted Esslinger as Parmelia zopheroa. A year later, he transferred it to the new genus Melanelia, which he created to contain the brown Parmeliae species. In 2004, after early molecular phylogenetic evidence showed that Melanelia was not monophyletic, Melanohalea was circumscribed by lichenologists Oscar Blanco, Ana Crespo, Pradeep K. Divakar, Esslinger, David L. Hawksworth and H. Thorsten Lumbsch, and M. zopheroa was transferred to it. The lichen has a disjunct distribution, as it is found in South America (Chile) and in New Zealand.
Melanohalea ushuaiensis is a species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first formally described in 1917 by Alexander Zahlbruckner as Parmelia ushuaiensis. Ted Esslinger transferred to the new genus Melanelia in 1978, which he circumscribed to contain the brown parmeliae species. In 2004, it was moved to the newly created genus Melanohalea. It is endemic to South America.
Melanohalea trabeculata is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first formally described by Finnish lichenologist Teuvo Ahti in 1966 as Parmelia trabeculata. Ted Esslinger transferred the species to the new genus Melanelia in 1978, which he circumscribed to contain the brown parmeliae species. In 2004, it was moved to the newly circumscribed genus Melanohalea.
Melanohalea tahltan is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was described as a new species in 2016. The species named honours the indigenous Tahltan people that live in northern regions of the Canadian province British Columbia.
Melanohalea austroamericana is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was described as a new species in 2016. The lichen is known only from two specimens collected in Chile's Laguna del Laja National Park, where they were discovered growing on bark in a forest of Chilean cedar. The specific epithet austroamericana refers to its South American distribution.
Melanohalea beringiana is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was described as a new species in 2016. The type was collected near the Richardson Highway, north of Paxson, Alaska, where it was found growing on the bark of a trunk of balsam poplar. The specific epithet beringiana refers to its Alaskan distribution. It is morphologically similar to Melanohalea olivaceoides, but is genetically distinct from that species.
Melanohalea columbiana is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was described as a new species in 2016. The type was collected at the Rock Creek of the Channeled Scablands, where it was found growing on a species of hawthorne. The specific epithet columbiana refers to its occurrence in the Columbia River drainage basin and Columbian Plateau. The lichen has been recorded from Idaho, Washington, Central Oregon, and a single locale in the Peninsular Ranges in Southern California. It is morphologically similar to Melanohalea multispora, but is genetically distinct from that species.
Melanohalea davidii is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was described as a new species in 2016. The type was collected by Ana Crespo in the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park in the province of Cádiz, Spain, where it was found growing on cluster pine. In addition to the type locality, it has also been recorded from Selas in the province of Guadalajara. The specific epithet davidii honours lichenologist David Leslie Hawksworth. The lichen is morphologically similar to Melanohalea exasperata, but is genetically distinct from that species.
Melanohalea mexicana is a species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Mexico, it was described as a new species in 2010 by Ted Esslinger and Rosa Emilia Pérez-Pérez. Within the genus Melanohalea, molecular phylogenetic analysis places it in the "subolivacea" group, which includes the species M. subolivacea and M. clairi.
Melanohalea peruviana is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Peru, it was described as a new species in 2012 by Ted Essingler. The type was collected by lichenologists Rolf Santesson and Roland Moberg in 1981, north of Huaraz in Laguna Llaca, at an elevation of 4,400 m (14,400 ft). Although it has a superficial similarity to Melanohalea trabeculata, it can be distinguished from that species by the presence of eight spores per ascus rather than 16–32, and by a more flattened and wrinkled thallus. Additionally, Melanohalea peruviana does not have detectable secondary compounds in the medulla, whereas M. trabeculata typically has medullary norstictic acid.
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.
Melanohalea subexasperata is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in China, it was formally described as a new species in 2010 by Fan-Ge Meng and Hai-Ying Wang. The type was collected from Tianshenqiao, Shangri-La City, at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,500 ft). The lichen is distributed in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau at elevations of 2,700–3,500 m (8,900–11,500 ft). It is the only species of Melanohalea with cortical hairs. The lichen is named for its resemblance to Melanohalea exasperata.
Melanohalea subverruculifera is a species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in China, it was first formally described as a new species in 1980 as Parmelia subverruculifera. It was transferred to the segregate genus Melanelia in 1991, and then to the genus Melanohalea in 2004.
Melanohalea elegantula, commonly known as the elegant camouflage lichen, is a species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first described by Alexander Zahlbruckner in 1894 as Parmelia aspidota var. elegantula. Hungarian lichenologist Ödön Szatala promoted it to full species status, as Parmelia elegantula, in 1930. Ted Esslinger transferred it to the genus Melanelia in 1978. Finally, it was assigned to the newly circumscribed genus Melanohalea in 2004.
Melanelixia ahtii is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in the United States, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Theodore Lee Esslinger, Ana Crespo, Helge Thorsten Lumbsch, Pradeep Kumar Divakar, and Steven Leavitt. The type specimen was collected from the north side of the Columbia River Gorge. Here, at an altitude of 75 m (246 ft) above sea level, it was found in a mixed oak-ponderosa pine forest, growing as an epiphyte on an oak. The species is known from DNA-verified collections in four western US states: California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The species epithet ahtii honours Finnish lichenologist Teuvo Ahti, "for his contributions to understanding diversity in brown parmelioid lichens".
