Micarea

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Micarea
Micarea prasina BP2 (2).JPG
Micarea prasina
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Pilocarpaceae
Genus: Micarea
Fr. (1825)
Type species
Micarea prasina
Fr. (1825)
Synonyms [1]

Micarea is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pilocarpaceae. [2] The widely distributed genus contains 156 species [3] and new species are described actively. Species in the genus are crustose lichens and their photobiont (the non-fungal organism) is a single-celled green alga. [4] The genus was established by the Swedish mycologist Elias Fries in 1825. Micarea lichens are typically small and often overlooked, producing minute fruiting bodies that are usually whitish, grey, or bluish in colour. Many species reproduce both sexually through spores and asexually through specialised structures, and they are found on substrates ranging from tree bark and dead wood to rocks and even moss.

Contents

Taxonomy


Micarea was circumscribed by Elias Magnus Fries in his 1825 work Systema Orbis Vegetabilis. [5] In his diagnosis , Fries characterised the genus by an effuse, crust-like thallus made up of aggregated gelatinous granules , together with free, almost spherical apothecia that are "always open" and lack a distinct margin. He recorded it from rocks and especially damp wood, and remarked that sterile material of Micarea prasina (the type species) could be difficult to tell apart from algae-like crusts recognised at the time. [5]

There have been some taxonomic disputes about the genus. [6] Nowadays, the genus is accepted, although it is paraphyletic and in need of further research. [4] Micarea prasina is the type species of the genus. [7] [8]

Description

Species of Micarea are small crustose lichens whose thallus forms a thin, spreading crust that may sit on the surface or be partly immersed in the substrate. The thallus is commonly built from tiny, almost spherical granules called goniocysts (minute clusters of fungal hyphae wrapped around algal cells). These granules may remain distinct, merge into convex areoles, or form a cracked (rimose) or scurfy crust; in some species the areoles break down into soredia for asexual dispersal, while isidia are only rarely present. A distinct marginal prothallus is usually absent or inconspicuous, and the thallus typically lacks a true outer cortex , though some species develop a thin, colourless outer layer. The photobiont is usually a single-celled green alga with thin-walled cells about 4–7 μm in diameter, often occurring in pairs (a "micareoid" arrangement). A few species also form small cephalodia that contain cyanobacteria such as Nostoc or Stigonema . [9]

Sexual fruiting bodies (apothecia) are usually present but are often minute (mostly under 1 mm across). They are commonly whitish to grey or bluish, but may be brown to black, and they are not pruinose . The apothecia are typically immarginate and sit close to the thallus. Stalked forms occur only rarely, and a thallus-derived margin is absent in almost all cases. Internally, the apothecial margin ( exciple ) ranges from poorly developed to well developed and is formed from radiating, branched hyphae. The pigments in these tissues can give characteristic reactions in standard chemical tests, and the spore-bearing layer (hymenium) is gelatinised and may turn blue in iodine. The hymenium contains mostly branched paraphyses, though some species also have sturdier, unbranched paraphyses; the tips are not, or only slightly, swollen and lack a dark apical cap. The asci bear eight spores and are club-shaped, with apical structures that show characteristic staining patterns. Ascospores are colourless and smooth, lack a perispore , and may be simple or transversely septate. Their shapes range from ellipsoid and ovoid to spindle-shaped or needle-like. Asexual reproductive structures are usually pycnidia (rarely sporodochia ), which may be immersed, sessile, or raised on short stalks. Three conidium types are produced: macroconidia (often curved, thread-like, or coiled, and often septate), mesoconidia (shorter, usually aseptate, often with oil droplets, and mostly about 1–2 μm wide), and microconidia (very small, simple, and to about 1 μm wide). Chemically, many species have no detectable secondary metabolites by thin-layer chromatography, while others produce a range of substances. Gyrophoric acid occurs in several species. [9]

Reproduction

Lichen-forming fungi have developed diverse reproduction strategies. Genus Micarea is used as a model for studying how reproductive traits and environmental factors relate to speciation, because species differ in both substrate use and reproductive mode. Some Micarea species are generalists that can grow on several substrates, while others are restricted to narrow microhabitats. In the Micarea prasina group, some species are predominantly sexual, while others often lack sexual structures but bear numerous pycnidia that produce asexual conidia. The roles of the different conidium types are still not fully understood, but mesoconidia are thought to act as asexual propagules, based in part on specimens that regularly have only mesopycnidia and no apothecia. Recent phylogenetic analyses together with ancestral state reconstruction indicate that shifts in reproduction mode have evolved independently several times in the group, and that facultative and obligate lignicoles can be sister species. This pattern is consistent with a facultative lignicole ancestor, and suggests that shifts from bark to dead wood can coincide with a move towards asexual reproduction. One proposed explanation is that dead wood is a short-lived habitat, so species confined to it may need to colonise new suitable substrata quickly; faster dispersal via asexual propagules could then promote reproductive divergence and contribute to speciation. [10]

Species

As of December 2025, Species Fungorum accepts 156 species of Micarea. [3]

Micarea denigrata Micarea denigrata 93742.jpg
Micarea denigrata
Micarea hylocomii; scale bar is 0.5 mm Fennoscandian crustose lichens (10.3897-mycokeys.25.13375) Figure 2C.jpg
Micarea hylocomii ; scale bar is 0.5 mm
Micarea subconfusa; scale bar is 0.5 mm Fennoscandian crustose lichens (10.3897-mycokeys.25.13375) Figure 3A.jpg
Micarea subconfusa ; scale bar is 0.5 mm

References

  1. ↑ "Synonymy: Micarea Fr., Syst. orb. veg. (Lundae) 1: 256 (1825)". Species Fungorum . Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  2. ↑ Wijayawardene, Nalin; Hyde, Kevin; Al-Ani, Laith Khalil Tawfeeq; Somayeh, Dolatabadi; Stadler, Marc; Haelewaters, Danny; et al. (2020). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa". Mycosphere. 11: 1060–1456. doi: 10.5943/mycosphere/11/1/8 . hdl: 10481/61998 .
  3. 1 2 "Micarea". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  4. 1 2 Andersen, Heidi L.; Ekman, Stefan (2005). "Disintegration of the Micareaceae (lichenized Ascomycota): a molecular phylogeny based on mitochondrial rDNA sequences". Mycological Research. 109 (1): 21–30. doi:10.1017/S0953756204001625. PMID   15736860.
  5. 1 2 Fries, Elias M. (1825). Systema Orbis Vegetabilis (in Latin). Vol. 1. Lund: Typographia Academica. pp. 256–257.
  6. ↑ Jørgensen, Per M. (1984). "Coppins, B. J. 1983. A taxonomic study of the lichen genus Micarea in Europe. – Bull". Nordic Journal of Botany. 4 (4): 544. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.1984.tb02061.x.
  7. ↑ Coppins, B.J. (1989). "(945) Proposal to conserve Micarea Fries (Dec. 1825) against Micarea Fries (pre-May 1825) (Fungi)". Taxon. 38 (3): 499–501. doi:10.2307/1222305. JSTOR   1222305.
  8. ↑ "Index Fungorum - Names Record - Micarea". Index Fungorum . Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  9. 1 2 Cannon, P.; Orange, A.; Aptroot, A.; Sanderson, N.; Coppins, B.; Simkin, J. (2022). Lecanorales: Pilocarpaceae, including the genera Aquacidia, Byssoloma, Fellhanera, Fellhaneropsis, Leimonis and Micarea (PDF). Revisions of British and Irish Lichens. Vol. 27. pp. 15–16. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  10. ↑ Kantelinen, Annina; Prinzen, Christian; Poczai, Péter; Myllys, Leena (2022). "Lichen speciation is sparked by a substrate requirement shift and reproduction mode differentiation". Scientific Reports. 12 (1): 11048. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-14970-9 . PMC   9247095 . PMID   35773369.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Coppins, B.J. (1983). "A taxonomic study of the lichen genus Micarea in Europe". Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History. 11: 108.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Guzow-Krzemińska, Beata; Sérusiaux, Emmanuël; van den Boom, Pieter P.G.; Brand, A. Maarten; Launis, Annina; Łubek, Anna; Kukwa, Martin (2019). "Understanding the evolution of phenotypical characters in the Micarea prasina group (Pilocarpaceae) and descriptions of six new species within the group". MycoKeys (57): 1–30. doi: 10.3897/mycokeys.57.33267 . PMC   6685933 . PMID   31406483.
  13. 1 2 Topham, Pauline B.; Walker, F. Joy (1982). "New and Interesting Lichen Records". The Lichenologist. 14 (1): 61–75. doi:10.1017/S0024282982000097.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Brand, A. Maarten; van Den Boom, Pieter P. G.; Sérusiaux, Emmanuël (2014). "Unveiling a surprising diversity in the lichen genus Micarea (Pilocarpaceae) in Réunion (Mascarenes archipelago, Indian Ocean)" (PDF). The Lichenologist. 46 (3): 413–439. doi:10.1017/S0024282913000911.
  15. 1 2 van den Boom, Pieter; Etayo, Javier; de Silanes, M. Eugenia López (2023). "Notes on lichenicolous Micarea species in Spain and Macaronesia, with the descriptions of two new species". Nova Acta Científica Compostelana: 1–7. doi: 10.15304/nacc.id8595 . ISSN   2340-0021.
  16. ↑ McCarthy, P.M.; Elix, J.A. (2016). "A new species of Micarea (lichenized Ascomycota, Pilocarpaceae) from alpine Australia". Telopea. 19: 31–36. doi: 10.7751/telopea10360 .
  17. 1 2 3 4 Coppins, B. J.; Kantvilas, G. (2007). "Studies on Micarea in Australasia I. Four new species from Tasmania". The Lichenologist. 22 (3): 277–288. doi:10.1017/S0024282990000317.
  18. ↑ van den Boom, P.P.G. (2013). "Further new or interesting lichens and lichenicolous Fungi of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)" (PDF). Stapfia. 99: 52–60.
  19. ↑ Svensson, Måns; Thor, Göran (2011). "Micarea capitata, a new bryophilous lichen from Sweden". The Lichenologist. 43 (5): 401–405. doi:10.1017/S0024282911000338.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kantvilas, Gintaras; Coppins, Brian J. (2019). "Studies on Micarea in Australasia II. A synopsis of the genus in Tasmania, with the description of ten new species". The Lichenologist. 51 (5): 431–481. doi:10.1017/S0024282919000343.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Coppins, Brian J.; Kashiwadani, Hiroyuki; Moon, Kwang Hee; Spribille, Toby; Thor, Göran (2021). "The genera Brianaria (Psoraceae) and Micarea(Pilocarpaceae) in Japan, with reports on other interesting species in Asia". The Lichenologist. 53 (1): 35–44. doi:10.1017/s0024282920000468.
  22. 1 2 3 Hedlund, T. (1892). "Kritische Bemerkungen über einige Arten der. Flechtengattungen Lecanora (Ach.), Lecidea (Ach.) und Micarea (Fr.)". Bihang Til Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar (in German). 18 (3): 83, 96.
  23. ↑ Tønsberg, T. (1992). "The sorediate and isidiate, corticolous, crustose lichens in Norway". Sommerfeltia. 14: 215. doi: 10.2478/som-1992-0002 .
  24. 1 2 3 4 Launis, A.; Pykälä, J.; van den Boom, P.; Sérusiaux, E.; Myllis, L. (2019). "Four new epiphytic species in the Micarea prasina group from Europe". The Lichenologist. 51 (1): 7–25. doi:10.1017/S0024282918000555. hdl: 10138/326194 .
  25. 1 2 Coppins, B.J. (1995). "Two new, diminutive Micarea species from Western Europe". Bibliotheca Lichenologica. 58: 57–62.
  26. 1 2 3 Launis, Annina; Malíček, Jiří; Svensson, Måns; Tsurykau, Andrei; Sérusiaux, Emmanuël; Myllys, Leena (2019). "Sharpening species boundaries in the Micarea prasina group, with a new circumscription of the type species M. prasina". Mycologia. 111 (4): 574–592. doi:10.1080/00275514.2019.1603044. hdl: 10138/326192 . PMID   31099728.
  27. ↑ Coppins, Brian J.; Aptroot, André (2008). "New species and combinations in The Lichens of the British Isles". The Lichenologist. 40 (5): 363–374. doi:10.1017/S0024282908008165.
  28. ↑ Launis, Annina; Myllys, Leena (2019). "Micarea fennica, a new lignicolous lichen species from Finland". Phytotaxa. 409 (3): 179–188. Bibcode:2019Phytx.409..179L. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.409.3.6.
  29. ↑ van den Boom, Pieter P.G.; Sipman, Harrie J.M.; Divakar, Pradeep K.; Ertz, Damien (2017). "New or interesting records of lichens and lichenicolous fungi from Panama, with descriptions of ten new species". Sydowia. 69 (69): 47–72. doi:10.12905/0380.sydowia69-2017-0047.
  30. 1 2 3 van den Boom, Pieter P.G.; Brand, A. Maarten; Coppins, Brian John; Sérusiaux, Emmanuel (2017). "Two new species in the Micarea prasina group from Western Europe". The Lichenologist. 49 (1): 13–25. doi:10.1017/S0024282916000633. hdl: 2268/206810 .
  31. ↑ Elix, John A.; McCarthy, Patrick M. (2018). "Ten new lichen species (Ascomycota) from Australia" (PDF). Australasian Lichenology. 82: 20–59.
  32. ↑ Poelt, J.; Döbbeler, P. (1975). "Über moosparasitische Arten der Flechtengattung Micarea und Vezdaea". Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie (in German). 96 (1–4): 328–352.
  33. ↑ Czarnota, Paweł; Coppins, Brian J. (2005). "A second Micarea with a hypothecial K+ violet pigment". The Lichenologist. 37 (6): 477–479. doi:10.1017/S0024282905015318.
  34. ↑ Rambold, G.; Triebel, D. (1992). "The inter-lecanoralean associations". Bibliotheca Lichenologica. 48: 169.
  35. ↑ Kantvilas, Gintaras; Elix, John A. (2007). "The genus Ramboldia (Lecanoraceae): a new species, key and notes". The Lichenologist. 39 (2): 135–141. doi: 10.1017/S0024282907006469 .
  36. ↑ Kantvilas, G. (2018). "Micarea kartana sp. nov. (lichenised Ascomycetes) from Kangaroo Island, South Australia". Swainsona. 31 (4): 55–58.
  37. ↑ Brackel, W. von (2016). "Eine neue flechtenbewohnende Micarea-Art aus Baden-Württemberg". Carolinea (in German). 74: 5–9.
  38. ↑ Coppins, B.J. (1988). "Two new Micarea species from Europe". Notes from the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh. 45 (1): 161–169. doi:10.24823/nrbge.1988.3518.
  39. 1 2 van den Boom, Pieter; Guzow-Krzemińska, Beata; Kukwa, Martin (2020). "Two new Micarea species (Pilocarpaceae) from Western Europe". Plant and Fungal Systematics. 65: 189–199. doi: 10.35535/pfsyst-2020-0014 .
  40. ↑ Coppins, B.J.; May, P.F. (2007). "Micarea neostipitata, a new species with pale stipitate pycnidia from eastern North America". The Lichenologist. 33 (6): 487–490. doi:10.1006/lich.2001.0350.
  41. ↑ Zhurbenko, M.P. (2023). "Contributions to the knowledge of lichenicolous fungi growing on Sphaerophoraceae, with a key to the species". Herzogia. 36 (2): 504–523. doi:10.13158/heia.36.2.2023.504.
  42. 1 2 Czarnota, P. (2007). "The lichen genus Micarea (Lecanorales, Ascomycota) in Poland". Polish Botanical Studies. 23: 174.
  43. ↑ Fryday, A.M. (2004). "New species and records of lichenized fungi from Campbell Island and the Auckland Islands, New Zealand". Bibliotheca Lichenologica. 88: 127–146.
  44. ↑ Coppins, B.J. (1988). "Micarea submarginata: a new saxicolous lichen from the British Isles". Notes from the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh. 45: 397–400. doi:10.24823/nrbge.1989.3535.
  45. 1 2 3 4 Kantelinen, Annina; Hyvärinen, Marko T.; Kirika, Paul; Myllys, Leena (2021). "Four new Micarea species from the montane cloud forests of Taita Hills, Kenya". The Lichenologist. 53 (1): 81–94. doi:10.1017/S0024282920000511. hdl: 10138/329202 .
  46. ↑ Coppins, B.J.; James, P.W. (1979). "New or interesting British lichens IV". The Lichenologist. 11 (2): 139–179 [153]. doi:10.1017/s0024282979000190.
  47. ↑ McCarthy, P.M.; Elix, J.A. (2020). "New species and new records of Micarea (Pilocarpaceae) from Australia". Australasian Lichenology. 87: 62–72.
  48. ↑ McCarthy, P.M.; Elix, J.A. (2020). "A new species of Micarea (Pilocarpaceae) from soil in New Zealand". Australasian Lichenology. 87: 26–29.
  49. ↑ Sérusiaux, E.; Coppins, B.J. (2009). "Micarea sipmanii, a new species with arbuscular pycnidia from the West Indies". Bibliotheca Lichenologica. 99: 367–372.
  50. ↑ Svensson, Måns; Ekman, Stefan; Klepsland, Jon T.; Nordin, Anders; Thor, Göran; von Hirschheydt, Gesa; Jonsson, Fredrik; Knutsson, Tommy; Lif, Mattias; Spribille, Toby; Westberg, Martin (2017). "Taxonomic novelties and new records of Fennoscandian crustose lichens". MycoKeys (25): 51–86. doi: 10.3897/mycokeys.25.13375 .
  51. ↑ Coppins, B.J.; James, P.W. (2007). "New or interesting British lichens IV". The Lichenologist. 11 (2): 139–179. doi:10.1017/S0024282979000190.
  52. ↑ Coppins, Brian J.; Spribille, Toby (2004). "Micarea subalpina Coppins & Spribille, a new subalpine species from the Rocky Mountains, USA". The Lichenologist. 36 (2): 97–102. doi:10.1017/S0024282904014070.
  53. ↑ Boom, P.P.G. van den; Brand, A.M. (2004). "Micarea subcinerea, an additional species of the lichen flora from western Europe". Österreichische Zeitschrift für Pilzkunde. 13: 125–129.
  54. ↑ Alstrup, V.; Christensen, S.N.; Hansen, E.S.; Svane, S. (1994). "The lichens of the Faroes". Fródskaparrit. 40: 61–121 [96].
  55. 1 2 Aptroot, A. (2002). "New and interesting lichens and lichenicolous fungi in Brazil". Fungal Diversity. 9: 15–45.
  56. ↑ Coppins, B.J. (1994). "Micarea submilliaria (Nyl.) Coppins, the correct name for Micarea subleprosula (Vezda) Vezda". Graphis Scripta. 6 (1): 37–38.
  57. ↑ Kilias, H. (1981). "Revision gesteinbewohnender Sippen der Flechtengattung Catillaria Massal. in Europa (Lecanorales, Lecideaceae)". Herzogia (in German). 5 (3–4): 209–448. doi:10.1127/herzogia/5/1981/209.
  58. ↑ Konoreva, Liudmila A.; Chesnokov, Sergey V.; Frolov, Ivan V. (2025). "Micarea svetlanae, a new species of the M. prasina group from the Russian Far East". The Lichenologist. 57 (1): 13–24. doi:10.1017/S0024282924000446.
  59. ↑ Aptroot, André; Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva (2014). "New lichen species from termite nests in rainforest in Brazilian Rondônia and adjacent Amazonas". The Lichenologist. 46 (3): 365–372. doi:10.1017/s0024282913000340.
  60. ↑ Du Rietz, G.E. (1923). "Lichenologiska fragment V. Nagra for Sverige nya eller foga kanda lavarter". Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift (in Swedish). 17: 83–95.
  61. ↑ van den Boom, Pieter P.G.; Ertz, Damien (2014). "A new species of Micarea (Pilocarpaceae) from Madeira growing on Usnea". The Lichenologist. 46 (3): 295–301. doi:10.1017/S0024282913000698.
  62. ↑ Coppins, B.J. (1985). "A new Micarea from the Scottish Highlands". The Lichenologist. 17 (1): 99–101. doi:10.1017/S002428298500010X.
  63. ↑ CórdovaÇhávez, Octavio; Aptroot, André; Castillo-Campos, Gonzalo; Cáceres, Marcela E.S; Pérez-Pérez, Rosa Emilia (2014). "Three new lichen species from cloud forest in Veracruz, Mexico". Cryptogamie, Mycologie. 35 (2): 157–162. doi:10.7872/crym.v35.iss2.2014.157.
  64. ↑ van den Boom, P.P.G.; Coppins, B.J. (2001). "Micarea viridileprosa sp. nov., an overlooked lichen species from western Europe". The Lichenologist. 33 (2): 87–91. doi:10.1006/lich.2000.0310.
  65. ↑ Muhr, L.E. (1987). "Lavfloran i Gravbficksravinen i Vfirmland". Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift (in Swedish). 81 (1): 17–35.
  66. ↑ Coppins, B.J.; Tønsberg, T. (2001). "A new xanthone-containing Micarea from northwest Europe and the Pacific Northwest of North America". The Lichenologist. 33 (2): 93–96. doi:10.1006/lich.2000.0311.
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