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 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.
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 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 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.
Flavopunctelia flaventior is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first formally described as a new species by James Stirton in 1877 as Parmelia flaventior. In 1982, Hildur Krog transferred it to the subgenus Flavopunctelia of her newly circumscribed genus Punctelia, created to contain Parmelia species with punctate (point-like) pseudocyphellae. Mason Hale raised this subgenus to generic status a couple of years later, setting Flavopunctelia flaventior as the type species of the new genus. The lichen is commonly known as the speckled greenshield. Flavopunctelia flaventior occurs in Asia, Europe, East Africa, North America, and South America.
Flavopunctelia praesignis is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first described as Parmelia praesignis by Finnish botanist William Nylander in 1872. In 1982, Hildur Krog transferred it to the subgenus Flavopunctelia of her newly circumscribed genus Punctelia, created to contain Parmelia species with punctate (point-like) pseudocyphellae. Mason Hale raised this subgenus to generic status a couple of years later. The lichen is colloquially known as the fruiting speckled greenshield. It is found in the southern United States, in various states of Mexico, and in South America. It has also been reported from Kenya, but that may be due to misidentification.
Punctelia novozelandica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in New Zealand, it was formally described as a new species in 1988 by John Alan Elix and Jen Johnston. The type specimen was collected in Port Hills, Banks Peninsula (Canterbury), where it was found growing on moist rock ledges in a remnant forest. The lichen grows on both rocks and tree bark in cool temperate podocarp forests on both islands of New Zealand. It is quite similar in appearance to Punctelia subflava, but is distinguished from that species by the black thallus undersurface.
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.
Punctelia borrerina is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Mexico and South America.
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 was previously known under the name Parmelia semansiana until an older name was discovered in 2003. A lookalike species, Punctelia hypoleucites, is morphologically indistinguishable from Punctelia graminicola, and they can only be reliably differentiated by examining the length of their conidia.
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.
