A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. Lichens are important actors in nutrient cycling and act as producers which many higher trophic feeders feed on, such as reindeer, gastropods, nematodes, mites, and springtails. Lichens have properties different from those of their component organisms. They come in many colors, sizes, and forms and are sometimes plant-like, but are not plants. They may have tiny, leafless branches (fruticose); flat leaf-like structures (foliose); grow crust-like, adhering tightly to a surface (substrate) like a thick coat of paint (crustose); have a powder-like appearance (leprose); or other growth forms.
Miriquidica is a genus of lichen in the family Lecanoraceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1987 by lichenologists Hannes Hertel and Gerhard Rambold, with Miriquidica complanata assigned as the type species. According to Dictionary of the Fungi, the widespread genus contains 23 species, found predominantly in arctic-alpine regions.
The Lecideaceae are a family of lichens in the order Lecideales.
Cecidonia is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Lecideaceae. It has two species. The genus was circumscribed in 1988 by Dagmar Triebel and Gerhard Rambold, with C. umbonella assigned as the type species.
Nesolechia is a genus of parasitic fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. All three species in the genus grow on lichens. Nesolechia probably evolved from a lichen ancestor, as it is closely related to many lichenized species of fungi.
Phacopsis is a genus of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungi. They are parasites of members of the large lichen family Parmeliaceae, of which they are also a member. Originally proposed by Edmond Tulasne in 1852 to contain 3 species, Phacopsis now contains 10 species, although historically, 33 taxa have been described in the genus. Many of the species are poorly known, some of them having been documented only from the type specimen.
Diploicia canescens is a widespread species of lichenized fungus. It is found throughout much of the world, occurring on every continent except Antarctica.
Umbilicaria hyperborea, commonly known as blistered rock tripe, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Umbilicariaceae. It is widely distributed in arctic and alpine regions.
Solenopsora is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Catillariaceae. It has 15 species, with a mostly Northern Hemisphere distribution.
Schaereria is a genus of lichen-forming fungi. It is the sole genus in the family Schaereriaceae, which itself is the only family in the Schaereriales, an order in the subclass Ostropomycetidae of the class Lecanoromycetes. Most Schaereria species are crustose lichens that live on rocks. Schaereria was first proposed by Gustav Wilhelm Körber in 1855 and was later taken up by other lichenologists despite periods of disuse.
Raesaenenia is a fungal genus in the large family Parmeliaceae. It is a monotypic genus, containing the single lichenicolous fungus Raesaenenia huuskonenii, which parasitises lichens of genus Bryoria in the Northern Hemisphere.
Phacopsis australis is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in a few locations in South Africa, where it grows on the thalli of several species of the leafy lichen genus Xanthoparmelia. Unlike other members of genus Phacopsis, the fungus does not induce the formation of galls in its host.
Henricus (Harrie) Johannes Maria Sipman is a Dutch lichenologist. He specialises in tropical and subtropical lichens, and has authored or co-authored more than 250 scientific publications. He was the curator of the lichen herbarium at the Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum from 1983 until his retirement in 2010.
Phacopsis vulpicidae is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus in the family Parmeliaceae. It was formally described as a new species in 2019 by mycologists Mikhail P. Zhurbenko and Paul Diederich. The type specimen was collected by the first author near the headwaters of Ar Khordolyn gol River in Renchinlkhümbe Somon, at an altitude of 2,050 m (6,730 ft). There, in the upper limit of a Larix sibirica forest, the fungus was found growing on the thallus of a ground-dwelling Vulpicida juniperina lichen. The species epithet vulpicidae refers to the genus of its host. Infections by the fungus cause blister-like (bullate) swellings of the host thallus. It is known to occur in arctic and mountain tundra and taiga biomes of Asia, Europe, and North America (Alaska). Its only recorded host is Vulpicida juniperina, and almost all recorded host specimens have been terricolous.
Phacopsis vulpina is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus in the family Parmeliaceae, and the type species of the genus Phacopsis. It was formally described as a new species in 1852 by French mycologist Edmond Tulasne. The fungus is restricted to the genus Letharia as a host and consequently has a Northern Hemisphere distribution. Externally, it is somewhat similar in appearance to P. lethariellae, but P. vulpina does not have a brown hypothecium.
Phacopsis thallicola is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first formally described as a new species in 1852 by Italian botanist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo, as Lecidea thallicola. The type specimen, collected from the province of Treviso in Italy, was growing on the foliose lichen Parmelia caperata. Dagmar Triebel and Gerhard Walter Rambold transferred the taxon to the genus Phacopsis in 1988. The known generic hosts of Phacopsis thallicola are all in the Parmeliaceae: Parmotrema, Cetrelia, Flavopunctelia, and Hypotrachyna.
Solorina crocea, commonly known as the orange chocolate chip lichen, is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling) and foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. The lichen, which was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, has an arctic–alpine and circumpolar distribution and occurs in Asia, Europe, North America, and New Zealand. It generally grows on the bare ground in sandy soils, often in moist soil near snow patches or seepage areas. Although several forms and varieties of the lichen have been proposed in its history, these are not considered to have any independent taxonomic significance.
Helocarpaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi in the subclass Lecanoromycetidae. The family is monotypic, and contains the single genus Helocarpon.
Bouvetiella is a monotypic genus of lichenized fungus in the class Lecanoromycetes. It contains only the species Bouvetiella pallida.
Schaereria xerophila is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Schaereriaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 1989 by lichenologists Gerhard Rambold and Helmut Mayrhofer. The type specimen was found growing on lowland, inland siliceous rock in Queensland, but its range has been expanded to include Tasmania. It is one of five species of Schaereria to occur in Australia. Some diagnostic characteristics of Schaereria xerophila include its crustose, areolate thallus, semi-immersed apothecia, and roughly spherical, non-halonate spores.
