Menegazzia

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Menegazzia
Menegazzia pertransita - 2008 - BC Myles.jpg
Menegazzia pertransita growing on a tree near Arthur's Pass, New Zealand. Scale bar = 1 cm.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Parmeliaceae
Genus: Menegazzia
A.Massal. (1854)
Type species
Menegazzia terebrata
A.Massal. (1854)
Subgenera

Dispora R.Sant. (1942)
OctosporaR.Sant. (1942)
MegamenegazziaBjerke & Sipman (2007)

Contents

Menegazzia is a genus of lichenized fungi containing roughly 70 accepted species. [1] The group is sometimes referred to as the tree flutes, honeycombed lichens, or hole-punch lichens. The most obvious morphological feature of the genus is the distinctive perforations spread across the upper side of the thallus. This makes the group easy to recognise, even for those not particularly familiar with lichen identification.

The genus has a sub-cosmopolitan distribution (excluding Antarctica), but is concentrated in Australasia, Melanesia, and southern South America. Most species grow exclusively on trees, but some grow on rocks, moss, and/or soil. [1]

Etymology

Menegazzia was described by the Veronese lichenologist Abramo Massalongo in 1854. [2] He named it after his friend Luigi Menegazzi (1795-1854), who was a naturalist. [3]

Taxonomy

Placement of Menegazzia within the Parmeliaceae has now been confirmed by several molecular studies. [4] [5] [6] However, the exact position of the genus within the Parmeliaceae remains uncertain. It is unplaced within the Parmeliaceae. Previously, the morphologically similar genus Hypogymnia was thought to be the sister genus to Menegazzia, with some authors even separating these two genera into a family of their own, the Hypogymniaceae. [7] However, no molecular phylogenies to date have supported this grouping. [4] [5] [6]

There are three accepted subgenera within Menegazzia: Dispora, Octospora, and Megamenegazzia. [8] However, the monophyletic nature of these three groups remains unknown.

Characteristics

Thallus

The thallus of Menegazzia is its most distinctive feature. It is foliose, dorsiventral, lobate, and often rosette-forming, though many species can also be irregularly spreading. It is heteromerous, that is, it contains an upper cortex, medulla, green algal layer (occupied by Trebouxia spp.), and lower cortex. The thallus can be loosely or closely attached to the substrate, depending on the species. Lobes are generally hollow and inflated, with perforations throughout the corticate upper surface. Only two species of Menegazzia are known which do not contain perforations ( M. eperforata , and an as yet undescribed taxon from Papua New Guinea). Many species can be sorediate, but only a few isidiate. Maculae are often present, especially at the lobe tips. The lower surface is also corticate, naked, and often uniformly attached to the substrate (except in M. inflata ). This surface is always blackened, and without rhizines. Internal cavities have walls which are most often white, but in some species they can be pigmented or blackened. [9]

Apothecia

Rounded apothecia are produced along the lamina of most of the known Menegazzia species, while the others are thought to be entirely asexual (like M. nothofagi and M. globulifera ). In the taxa that do produce apothecia, they are always lecanorine, and often cupuliform. They can be sessile, but more frequently are subpedicellate to pedicellate. The apothecial disc is concave to plane, matt to shining, or even pruinose in some taxa (like with M. dielsii ), with a well-developed thalline exciple. Epithecium is pigmented, and occasionally has granular inclusions. The hymenium is always colourless. Hypothecium is chondroid, and made-up of thick-walled, conglutinated cells. Paraphyses are netted, with apical cells that are sometimes capitate, and often pigmented to some extent. Asci are 2 or 8-spored. [9]

Spores

The ascospores are simple, colourless, ellipsoid, thick walled, with a broad range of dimensions: 20-120 × 10-50 μm. Pycnidia, if present, are produced along the lamina, and minute, immersed, and punctiform with a dark apex. Conidia, if present, are short and bacilliform. [9]

Chemistry

Members of the genus have a diverse chemistry, including fatty acids, depsides, depsidones, and pigments. [9]

Ecology

Menegazzia species are most often corticolous, but several species are saxicolous, muscicolous, and/or terricolous. [10] This group tends to be most abundant and diverse in Australasia and South America, commonly found in forests where southern beech ( Nothofagus ) dominates. They favour higher-elevation, moist, cool habitats. [11] Most species appear to be very slow growing, especially in dryer habitats, but more study is needed here.

Evolution

Ascus evolution in Menegazzia is of particular interest, because many species have 2-spores per ascus, while nearly all other genera in the Parmeliaceae have 8-spores (making the character likely plesiomorphic for the family).

Uses

Menegazzia does not produce any economically important products, nor is it known to have had any uses by indigenous peoples. However, the genus is important for some small insects, which use the hollow lobes for shelter and the upper cortex for food.

Species

Related Research Articles

<i>Parmelia</i> (fungus) Genus of lichens

Parmelia is a genus of medium to large foliose (leafy) 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parmeliaceae</span> Family of lichens

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.

<i>Hypogymnia</i> Genus of lichens

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.

<i>Vulpicida</i> Genus of lichen

Vulpicida is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. Circumscribed in 1993 to contain species formerly placed in Cetraria, the genus is widespread in Arctic to northern temperate regions, and contains six species. The genus is characterized by the presence of the secondary metabolites pulvinic acid and vulpinic acid, compounds that when combined with usnic acid, give the species their characteristic yellow and green colors.

<i>Myelochroa</i> Genus of lichens

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.

<i>Cetrelia</i> Genus of lichens in the family Parmeliaceae

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.

<i>Parmotrema</i> Genus of fungi

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.

<i>Xanthoparmelia</i> Genus of fungi

Xanthoparmelia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. This genus of lichen is commonly found in the United States, South America, southern Africa, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Menegazzia globulifera is a species of foliose lichen found in New Zealand, Australia, and southern South America. It was formally described as a species new to science in 1942 by Swedish lichenologist Rolf Santesson. The type specimen was collected north of Lago Fagnano. The lichen is typically encountered as an epiphyte, but occasionally it has been recorded growing on rocks. Menegazzia globulifera contains usnic acid and lecanoric acid as major lichen products.

Menegazzia minuta is a rare species of foliose lichen that is endemic to Tasmania, Australia. It was scientifically described as a new species in 1987 by lichenologists Peter James and Gintaras Kantvilas. The type specimen was collected by the second author south of Arthur River, where the lichen was found in a rainforest growing on twigs of leatherwood. The species epithet minuta refers to the small size of its thallus. Menegazzia minuta contains protolichesterinic acid, a lichen product that helps to distinguish it from the similar species Menegazzia eperforata, which instead contains stictic acid and related compounds. In a 2012 publication, Kantvilas called M. minuta "one of Tasmania's rarest lichens", characterised by a "glossy olive-brown thallus of minute, spidery lobes, densely beset with lobule-like isidia".

<i>Menegazzia terebrata</i> Species of lichen

Menegazzia terebrata is a species of foliose lichen found scattered across many continents, including North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

<i>Anzia</i> Genus of fungi

Anzia is a genus of foliose lichens known as black-foam lichens in the large family Parmeliaceae. It was formerly included in the monogeneric family Anziaceae, but this has since been subsumed into the Parmeliaceae.

<i>Punctelia perreticulata</i> Species of lichen

Punctelia perreticulata is a widely distributed species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It occurs in Mediterranean Europe and Russia, North America, South America, Australia, and New Zealand, where it grows on rocks, bark, or wood. Its main distinguishing features are its thallus surface, marked with many shallow depressions, grooves, or pits, and sorediate pseudocyphellae. The lower side of the thallus is ivory to tan towards the centre and the major secondary metabolite in the medulla is lecanoric acid. A lookalike species with which it has been historically confused is Punctelia subrudecta; this lichen can be distinguished from Punctelia perreticulata by the texture of the thallus surface, or, more reliably, by the length of its conidia.

Menegazzia bjerkeana is a rare species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It occurs in rainforests along the New South Wales-Queensland border, where it grows on the bark of southern beech trees.

Hypogymnia nitida is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It has a glossy dark brown upper surface and a strongly wrinkled, convoluted lower surface. Found in China, it was described as a new species in 2014.

Placomaronea kaernefeltii is a rare species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) lichen in the family Candelariaceae. Found in South America, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by lichenologists Martin Westberg, Patrik Frödén, and Mats Wedin. The type specimen was collected by the second author from Arica (Chile), between Socoroma and Putre, at an altitude of 3,750 m (12,300 ft), where it was found growing along cracks and pits on a siliceous boulder in a dry mountain slope. The lichen is only known to occur at its type locality, although the authors suggest a wider distribution is likely. The species epithet honours Swedish lichenologist Ingvar Kärnefelt.

Menegazzia endocrocea is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Australia. The lichen forms irregular rosettes up to 10 cm wide with hollow, cylindrical lobes that branch dichotomously, featuring a pale grey to cream-grey upper surface with roundish holes and a wrinkled, black lower surface. It has scattered apothecia with a reddish-brown disc, two-spored asci, and abundant pycnidia, identified chemically by compounds like atranorin and stictic acid.

<i>Pseudocyphellaria hirsuta</i> Species of lichen-forming fungus

Pseudocyphellaria hirsuta is a species of foliose lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. First described in 1835, it has undergone several taxonomic revisions over nearly two centuries. The lichen forms a flat, leaf-like structure (thallus) that can grow up to 27 cm in diameter, typically appearing grey or brown and covered in fine hairs. It is characterised by small pore-like structures called pseudocyphellae on its lower surface, which can be yellow or, less commonly, white. P. hirsuta grows mainly on trees in forested areas, particularly those dominated by southern beech (Nothofagus) species, but can also be found on rocks, soil, and stumps. The species is widely distributed in Argentina and Chile, from central regions to Tierra del Fuego, and has been observed in various forest types and elevations.

References

  1. 1 2 Galloway, D.J. (2007). Flora of New Zealand - Menegazzia http://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/index.aspx
  2. ↑ James, P.W. and Galloway, D.J. (1992). Flora of Australia - Menegazzia http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/lichenlist/MENEGAZZIA%20Genus%20and%20Key.pdf
  3. ↑ Burkhardt, Lotte (2022). Eine Enzyklopädie zu eponymischen Pflanzennamen [Encyclopedia of eponymic plant names](pdf) (in German). Berlin: Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin. doi:10.3372/epolist2022. ISBN   978-3-946292-41-8. S2CID   246307410 . Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Arup, U., Ekman, S., Grube, M., Mattson, J., Wedin, M. (2007). The sister group relation of Parmeliaceae (Lecanorales, Ascomycota). Mycologia99: 42-49. http://www.mycologia.org/cgi/content/abstract/99/1/42
  5. 1 2 Crespo, A.; Lumbsch, H. T.; Mattsson, J. E.; Blanco, O.; Divakar, P. K.; Articus, K.; Wiklund, E.; Bawingan, P. A.; Wedin, M. (August 2007). "Testing morphology-based hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships in Parmeliaceae (Ascomycota) using three ribosomal markers and the nuclear RPB1 gene". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 44 (2): 812–824. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.11.029. PMID   17276700.
  6. 1 2 Thell, A., Feuerer, T., Karnefelt, I., Myllys, L., Stenroos, S. (2004). Monophyletic groups within the Parmeliaceae identified by ITS rDNA, β-tubulin and GAPDH sequences. Mycological Progress3: 297-314. https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11557-006-0100-1
  7. ↑ Poelt, J. (1973). Classification. In: Ahmadjian, V., Hale, M.E. (Eds.), The Lichens. Academic Press, New York, pp.599-632./
  8. ↑ Bjerke, J.W. and Sipman, H.J.M. (2007). New species and new records of Menegazzia (Parmeliaceae, lichenized ascomycetes) from Malaysia and Indonesia. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society153: 489-499.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Galloway, D.J. (1985). Flora of New Zealand - Menegazzia http://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/index.aspx
  10. ↑ Bjerke, Jarle W.; Elvebakk, Arve El; Quilhot, Wanda. "Distribution and habitat ecology of the sorediate species of Menegazzia (Parmeliaceae, lichenized Ascomycota) in Chile" (PDF). Revista Chilena de Historia Natural: 79–80.
  11. ↑ Kantvilas, Gintaras; Louwhoff, Simone (March 2004). "A new eight-spored species of Menegazzia from Australia". The Lichenologist. 36 (2): 103–111. doi:10.1017/S002428290401415X. ISSN   1096-1135.
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