| Phlyctis argena | |
|---|---|
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| on a tree in Denmark | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Gyalectales |
| Family: | Phlyctidaceae |
| Genus: | Phlyctis |
| Species: | P. argena |
| Binomial name | |
| Phlyctis argena | |
| Synonyms | |
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Phlyctis argena is a species of crustose lichen. [1]
Phlyctis argena has a thin crustose thallus that is white, greyish or green-grey in colour. The identification can be confirmed with the spot test application a drop of potassium hydroxide (K-test) to the thallus, which will turn yellow and then red.
Widespread, including Africa, Asia, Europa and North America.
Phlyctis argena usually grows as a generalist epiphyte on the bark of deciduous trees, especially Salix cinerea and Fraxinus excelsior . It also occasionally grows on stone, such as gravestones.
The lichen is a generalist epiphyte of deciduous trees and is acidophilic. Its abundance appears to have increased generally since the 1970s, possibly in responses to changes in air pollution levels [2]
The etymology of the genus name, Phlyctis , comes from the obsolete medical term phlyctidium, meaning a large blister. The species epithet, argena, is derived from the latin "argentum", meaning silver.
The following varieties of Phlyctis argena have been described:
An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phorophytes. Epiphytes take part in nutrient cycles and add to both the diversity and biomass of the ecosystem in which they occur, like any other organism. They are an important source of food for many species. Typically, the older parts of a plant will have more epiphytes growing on them. Epiphytes differ from parasites in that they grow on other plants for physical support and do not necessarily affect the host negatively. An organism that grows on another organism that is not a plant may be called an epibiont. Epiphytes are usually found in the temperate zone or in the tropics. Epiphyte species make good houseplants due to their minimal water and soil requirements. Epiphytes provide a rich and diverse habitat for other organisms including animals, fungi, bacteria, and myxomycetes.
A lichen is a hybrid colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among filaments of multiple fungi species, along with a yeast embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualistic relationship.
Phlyctis psoromica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. Native to New South Wales, Australia, it was described as new to science in 2011. This lichen is characterised by its whitish to pale blue-grey crustose thallus and distinctive secondary chemistry.
Lichens of the Sierra Nevada have been little studied. A lichen is a composite organism consisting of a fungus and a photosynthetic partner growing together in a symbiotic relationship.
Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the substrate, making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichens consists of a cortex layer, an algal layer, and a medulla. The upper cortex layer is differentiated and is usually pigmented. The algal layer lies beneath the cortex. The medulla fastens the lichen to the substrate and is made up of fungal hyphae. The surface of crustose lichens is characterized by branching cracks that periodically close in response to climatic variations such as alternate wetting and drying regimes.
Lichens are symbiotic organisms made up of multiple species: a fungus, one or more photobionts and sometimes a yeast. They are regularly grouped by their external appearance – a characteristic known as their growth form. This form, which is based on the appearance of vegetative part of the lichen, varies depending on the species and the environmental conditions it faces. Those who study lichens (lichenologists) have described a dozen of these forms: areolate, byssoid, calicioid, cladoniform, crustose, filamentous, foliose, fruticose, gelatinous, leprose, placoidioid and squamulose. Traditionally, crustose (flat), foliose (leafy) and fruticose (shrubby) are considered to be the three main forms. In addition to these more formalised, traditional growth types, there are a handful of informal types named for their resemblance to the lichens of specific genera. These include alectorioid, catapyrenioid, cetrarioid, hypogymnioid, parmelioid and usneoid.
Calicium glaucellum is a crustose lichen that is found growing on trees throughout much of the world. The species is similar to Calicium abietinum.
Haematomma ochroleucum, also known as yellow bloodstain lichen, is a species of crustose lichenized fungus. First described in 1771 by Noël Martin Joseph de Necker, it has no subspecies, but two named varieties: H. o. var. ochroleucum and H. o. var. porphyrium.
Candelariella antennaria, or the pussytoes eggyolk lichen, is a lichen commonly distributed in North America, and has been observed in South America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. It is characterized by its gray thallus and bright yellow apothecia, as well as its very small size.
Biatora oxneri is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found in the Russian Far East and in South Korea.
Coenogonium lueckingii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Coenogoniaceae. It is known to occur in a couple of locations in South Korea, where it grows on the bark of trees in humid locations.
Dirina mexicana is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Roccellaceae. First identified in Mexico, it displays distinctive characteristics which set it apart from other species within the same genus. The lichen is unique for its varied hues and certain chemical characteristics that are seen in its thallus, or vegetative tissue. Typically growing on vertical or overhanging rocks and cliffs, Dirina mexicana can be found in specific regions across Mexico.
Phlyctis communis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. Found in the Maharashtra state of India, it grows on the bark of tree trunks in semi-evergreen to dry deciduous forests. Described as a new species in 2012, the lichen is characterised by its greyish or greenish-white crustose thallus and numerous ascomata, ascospores that have between 7 and 14 transverse septa, and the presence of corstictic and salazinic acids.
Phlyctis monosperma is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. It is characterised by its greyish-white, loose, granular thallus, single-spored asci, and distinctive chemical substances. The lichen is found in the subtropical evergreen forests of the Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats of India, where it grows on rough tree bark in close association with plant-dwelling bryophytes at elevations above 2,000 m (6,600 ft). It also occurs in Sri Lanka.
Phlyctis sirindhorniae is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. It shares some similarities with Phlyctis agelaea but can be distinguished by its smaller ascospores, larger apothecia, and a higher number of ascospores per ascus. It is only known to exist in a specific location in northeastern Thailand.
Phlyctis subhimalayensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. It is found in certain high-elevations regions of the Himalayas and Southwestern China.
Mycoblastus sanguinarius, commonly known as the bloody heart lichen, is a widespread species of crustose lichen in the family Tephromelataceae. It is distinguished by its pale to dark grey thallus, which can appear very irregular and uneven, often with a thick, coarse, wart-like texture. The thallus may be continuous or somewhat cracked, with a prothallus that ranges from pale to dark grey. The apothecia are frequent, black, and become convex or hemispherical as they mature. These structures develop on a bright carmine-red thalline cushion, which is revealed when the thallus is damaged or worn. The lichen grows in temperate and montane forests across Asia, Europe, and North America. Usually found on tree bark, it has been recorded less frequently on decorticated wood and moss-covered rocks.
Megaloblastenia is a genus of crustose lichen-forming fungi in the family Megalosporaceae, comprising three species. Proposed by Dutch lichenologist Harrie Sipman in 1983, the genus is characterised by its thick, ecorticate thallus ranging from pale whitish-grey to yellowish, and its disc-like fruiting bodies (apothecia) that can be biatorine or lecideine. Megaloblastenia lichens form a symbiotic relationship with Dictyochloropsis algae, produce hyaline, bicellular ascospores with polaribilocular structure, and contain chemical compounds such as zeorin, pannarin, or usnic acid. Found in Australasia and South America, these lichens typically grow as epiphytes on trees in moist forests within temperate to tropical oceanic climates.
Ancistrosporella leucophila is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling crustose lichen in the family Roccellaceae. Originally described in 1867 from a specimen found in Colombia, it was reclassified in 2018, expanding its known range to include Venezuela. The lichen is characterised by its whitish body and distinctive black, elongated reproductive structures. It grows in well-preserved tropical forests at varying elevations, from about 110 to 1,200 metres above sea level. Characteristics of A. leucophila include its hook-shaped spores and the presence of psoromic acid, which causes it to turn yellow-orange in a certain chemical spot test. Due to its extremely limited known distribution and the threats to its habitat from deforestation and land-use changes, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified A. leucophila as a Critically Endangered species.
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