| Punctelia diffractaica | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Parmeliaceae |
| Genus: | Punctelia |
| Species: | P. diffractaica |
| Binomial name | |
| Punctelia diffractaica Kurok. (1999) | |
Punctelia diffractaica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Peru.
The lichen was described as a species new to science by Japanese lichenologist Syo Kurokawa in 1999. The type was collected by colleague Hiroyuki Kashiwadani in the Saylla District (Cuzco Province), where it was found in a pasture on the side of a road, growing on a calcareous rock at an altitude of about 3,200 m (10,500 ft). It is named for its uncommon metabolite, diffractaic acid. [1]
The lichen has a foliose (leafy) thallus that is greenish-gray in colour, with a tight attachment to its substrate. It has a more or less rough, leathery texture, reaching dimensions of 8–10 cm (3.1–3.9 in) in diameter, comprising irregular lobes that are 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) wide. Like all species of Punctelia , P. diffractaica has minute pores – pseudocyphellae – that help facilitate gas exchange. The thallus surface features isidia that originate either from the pseudocyphellae, or directly from the surface. The medulla is white, while the underside of the thallus is black, with sparse, short black rhizines less than 1 mm long. In the type specimen, most of the apothecia (sexual reproductive organs) were juvenile, measuring less than 2 mm in diameter, and not reported in the description. [1]
Punctelia diffractaica contains atranorin and diffractaic acid is its main secondary chemicals. The latter chemical is rare in the family Parmeliaceae, and not otherwise known to occur in genus Punctelia . It is the presence of this chemical that allows this species to be distinguished from the morphologically similar species Punctelia punctilla , which also occurs in South America. [1] Diffractaic acid is in the class of compounds called depsides, and has been scientifically investigated for biological properties such as antioxidant, antiulcerogenic and gastroprotective effects. [2]
Flavopunctelia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. The genus contains species that are widespread in temperate and tropical areas. The genus is characterised by broad, yellow-green lobes, point-like (punctiform) pseudocyphellae on the thallus surface, and bifusiform conidia. All species contain usnic acid as a major secondary chemical in the cortex. Flavopunctelia was originally conceived as a subgenus of Punctelia by Hildur Krog in 1982; Mason Hale promoted it to generic status in 1984.
Punctelia is a genus of foliose lichens belonging to the large family Parmeliaceae. The genus, which contains about 50 species, was segregated from genus Parmelia in 1982. Characteristics that define Punctelia include the presence of hook-like to thread-like conidia, simple rhizines, and point-like pseudocyphellae. It is this last feature that is alluded to in the vernacular names speckled shield lichens or speckleback lichens.
Punctelia guanchica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae that is only known from the Canary Islands. It is similar in appearance and morphology to the North American Punctelia rudecta, and was historically misidentified as that species until molecular phylogenetic evidence showed it to be a distinct species. It differs in having thicker isidia that develop from the centre of the pseudocyphellae, and it mainly grows on rocks.
Punctelia transtasmanica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Australasia.
Punctelia purpurascens is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by lichenologists Marcelo Marcelli and Luciana da Silva Canêz. The type specimen was collected in the municipality of Vicara in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. There it was found growing on a basaltic rock in an open field. The specific epithet purpurascens refers to the unusual K+ purple reaction of the medulla.
Punctelia nebulata is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 1988 by lichenologists John A. Elix and Jen Johnston. The type was collected in New South Wales, on a roadside north of Gilgandra. The lichen grows on Callitris trees in semi-arid, inland regions of southern Australia.
Punctelia constantimontium is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Its range includes South America, Africa, and Mexico, where it grows on bark and twigs.
Punctelia reddenda is a widely distributed species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It occurs in Africa, Europe, North America, and South America, where it grows on bark and on rock.
Punctelia subalbicans is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Australia and New Zealand, where it grows on the bark of various tree species.
Punctelia tomentosula is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Peru, it was described as a new species in 1999 by Japanese lichenologist Syo Kurokawa.
Punctelia jujensis is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Argentina and Brazil.
Punctelia colombiana is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in South America.
Punctelia subpraesignis is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It occurs in Mexico, South America, and East Africa, where it grows on bark and on rocks. Major characteristics of the lichen that distinguish it from other Punctelia species include the C+ and KC+ rose spot tests of the medulla, ascospores that are smaller than 20 μm, and unciform (hooklike) conidia.
Punctelia cedrosensis is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is endemic to Mexico, where it grows on the bark of conifers.
Punctelia punctilla is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Africa, South America, and North America, where it grows on bark and on rocks. The main characteristics that distinguish Punctelia punctilla from other species of Punctelia are the presence of isidia on the thallus surface, a pale brown thallus undersurface, and the presence of lecanoric acid in the medulla.
Punctelia hypoleucites, commonly known as the southwestern speckled shield lichen, is a species of foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. First formally described by Finnish botanist William Nylander as a species of Parmelia, it was transferred to the genus Punctelia in 1982. The lichen is found in Africa, North America, and South America, where it grows on the bark of both hardwood and coniferous trees. Its greenish-grey thallus is covered with tiny white pseudocyphellae – minute holes in the thallus surface that facilitate gas exchange. Some macroscopic features that help distinguish this species from other related members of the genus include the presence and the structure of the apothecia, the absence of asexual surface propagules, and the light brown color of the thallus undersurface. Chemically, the presence of lecanoric acid in the medulla and atranorin in the cortex help distinguish it from lookalikes.
Punctelia bolliana, the eastern speckled shield lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in North America, with a distribution extending from the Canadian province of Ontario south to the central and northeastern United States and Mexico. It grows on the bark of both deciduous trees and coniferous trees. The combination of characteristics that distinguishes this species from others in genus Punctelia are the absence of the vegetative propagules isidia and soralia, a pale brown lower thallus surface, and the presence of the secondary chemical protolichesterinic acid in the medulla.
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.
Punctelia graminicola is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows on rocks, and, less frequently, on bark in North America, South America, and East Africa. It has a blue-grey thallus measuring up to about 15 cm (6 in), covered with tiny pores. The lichen was previously known under the name Parmelia semansiana until an older name was discovered in 2003. A lookalike species, Punctelia hypoleucites, is indistinguishable from Punctelia graminicola by appearance alone; they can only be reliably differentiated by examining the length of their conidia.
Punctelia borreri is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is a common and widely distributed species, occurring in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America. The lichen typically grows on bark of deciduous trees, and less commonly on rock. Some European countries have reported increases in the geographic range or regional frequency of the lichen in recent decades, attributed alternatively to a reduction of atmospheric sulphur dioxide levels or an increase in temperatures resulting from climate change.