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.
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 rudecta, commonly known as the rough speckled shield or the speckleback lichen, is a North American species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. This species can be readily identified by the light color of the thallus underside, the relatively large lobes at the edges of the thallus, and the tiny white pores present on the top of the thallus that are characteristic of the genus Punctelia. The lichen is quite abundant and widespread in the eastern and southeastern United States, although it also occurs in Canada and northern Mexico, but is less common in these regions. The lichen usually grows on bark, and less commonly on shaded rocks. There are several lookalike Punctelia species; these can often be distinguished from P. rudecta by differences in distribution or in the nature of the reproductive structures present on the thallus.
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.
Trichosphaerella buckii is a species of lichenicolous fungus in the family Niessliaceae. It was described as a new species in 2016 by Richard Harris and James Lendemer. The type was found growing immersed in a moribund thallus of the lichen Punctelia rudecta, which itself was on the trunk of a maple tree. This tree was in the Alligator River Game Land, in the Coastal Plain region of eastern North Carolina. Although at the time of publication the fungus was known only from the type locality, it was suspected to have a larger distribution, considering its lichen host has a widespread North American distribution.
Punctelia toxodes is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. The lichen is a member of the Punctelia rudecta species complex. Found in South Africa, it was first formally described as a new species by English botanist James Stirton in 1878 as Parmelia toxodes. Klaus Kalb and Manuela Götz transferred it to the genus Punctelia in 2007. In his 1878 publication, Stirton did not designate a type specimen, so an epitype was designated in a 2016 publication. This epitype was collected from the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, on Paarl Mountain at an altitude of 530 m (1,740 ft). The lichen grows on bark and on rocks.
Punctelia caseana is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Its range covers eastern North America, extending south to central and northern Mexico, where it grows on the bark of many species of hardwood and conifer trees.
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 appalachensis, commonly known as the Appalachian speckled shield lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in the eastern United States and eastern Canada. The lichen was first formally described in 1962 by lichenologist William Culberson as a species of Parmelia. He collected the type specimen growing on tree bark in West Virginia, Hildur Krog transferred it to the newly circumscribed genus Punctelia in 1982.
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 negata is a little-known species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in South America.
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 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 graminicola is a species of foliose (leafy) 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 called pseudocyphellae. Sometimes the lichen forms small lobes that project out from the surface. Fruiting bodies are uncommon in this species; if present, they resemble small cups with a brown internal disc measuring 3–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) in diameter. A lookalike species, Punctelia hypoleucites, is not readily distinguishable from Punctelia graminicola by appearance or habitat alone; these species can only be reliably differentiated by examining the length of their conidia.
Leprocaulaceae is a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi. It is the single family in the monotypic order Leprocaulales. Leprocaulaceae contains three genera and about 33 species.
Punctelia subflava is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae that occurs in Australia.
Punctelia stictica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is widely distributed lichen, recorded in Africa, Europe, North America, South America, and Greenland. It is typically found growing on rocks.
Punctelia microsticta is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It occurs in Brazil and Argentina, where it grows on bark.
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.
