Rufoplaca

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Rufoplaca
Rufoplaca arenaria 12164044.jpg
Rufoplaca arenaria
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Teloschistales
Family: Teloschistaceae
Genus: Rufoplaca
Arup, Søchting & Frödén (2013)
Type species
Rufoplaca subpallida
(H.Magn.) Arup, Søchting & Frödén (2013)
Species

See text

Rufoplaca is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. [1] The genus is found primarily across the Northern Hemisphere, with most species occurring in Europe and additional records from North America and Asia. These lichens typically grow as thin crusts with orange-red colouration on sun-exposed rocks and other surfaces. The genus was established in 2013 to group together several previously scattered species that genetic studies showed formed a natural evolutionary lineage.

Contents

Taxonomy

Rufoplaca was established by Ulf Arup, Ulrik Søchting and Patrik Frödén to accommodate a coherent set of orange-red Teloschistaceae previously scattered in other genera; the type species is Rufoplaca subpallida . The name means 'with reddish-brown discs', referring to the colour of the fruiting bodies. In their analyses, the genus formed a fairly uniform lineage; its closest relative was Usnochroma , which differs chemically (it contains usnic acid in the thallus) and in spore form (with a longer internal septum). Species of Rufoplaca can resemble Blastenia in general appearance, but Rufoplaca characteristically has orange-to-rusty apothecia rich in chlorinated anthraquinone pigments. Taxa of the former "Caloplaca xerica" species group are also similar; however, they differ in their chemistry, showing a different pigment suite (" chemosyndrome  C" rather than the "chemosyndrome A" typical of Rufoplaca). The circumscription originally included the following new combinations: R. arenaria, R. germanica, R. oxfordensis, R. scotoplaca, R. subpallida (type), and R. tristiuscula. [2]

Description

The thallus is crustose, forming a thin, paint-like crust on the substrate, and may range from very thin to relatively thick; in some specimens it can be so reduced as to appear absent. A distinctive grey pigment ( Sedifolia-grey ) may be present in the thallus. The apothecia are orange to rusty red and have rims that vary from biatorine to zeorine in form—that is, the edge may be formed only by the fruit body tissue (biatorine) or may include a thin rim of thallus tissue around it (zeorine). Asci produce two-celled ( polarilocular ) spores with a short to medium-length septum between the two end chambers, a spore type common in this family. Asexual reproductive structures (pycnidia) may be present or absent; when present they produce slender, rod-shaped to narrowly ellipsoid conidia. [2]

Chemically, species of Rufoplaca conform mostly to chemosyndrome A, meaning they share a characteristic set of lichen pigments dominated by chlorinated anthraquinones; gyrophoric acid may occur rarely. [2]

Habitat and distribution

Rufoplaca is primarily a Northern Hemisphere genus. Most records are from Europe, with additional occurrences in North America and Asia. Within this range, species grow as crusts on suitable substrates (typically sun-exposed, where their orange-red pigments are common), mirroring the habitats used by related, look-alike Teloschistaceae. [2]

Species

As of October 2025, Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) accepts 13 species of Rufoplaca: [3]

References

  1. ↑ Wijayawardene, Nalin; Hyde, Kevin; Al-Ani, Laith Khalil Tawfeeq; Somayeh, Dolatabadi; Stadler, Marc; Haelewaters, Danny; et al. (2020). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa". Mycosphere. 11: 1060–1456. doi: 10.5943/mycosphere/11/1/8 . hdl: 10481/61998 .
  2. 1 2 3 4 Arup, Ulf; Søchting, Ulrik; Frödén, Patrik (2013). "A new taxonomy of the family Teloschistaceae". Nordic Journal of Botany. 31 (1): 16–83. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.2013.00062.x.
  3. ↑ "Rufoplaca". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  4. ↑ Kondratyuk, S.Y.; Lőkös, L.; Oh, S.-O.; Kondratiuk, T.O.; Parnikoza, I.Yu.; Hur, J.-S. (2020). "New and noteworthy lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi, 11". Acta Botanica Hungarica. 62 (3–4): 225–291. doi: 10.1556/034.62.2020.3-4.3 .
  5. ↑ Roux, Cl. (2023). "Additions à la 3e édition du Catalogue des lichens de France (3) Changements nomenclaturaux importants et liste commentée des espèces et taxons infraspécifiques nouvellement trouvés en France (du 2022/09/20 au 2023/09/19)". Bulletin de la Société Linnéenne de Provence (in French). 74: 93–124 [124].
  6. ↑ Kondratyuk, S.Y.; Lőkös, L.; Halda, J.P.; Haji Moniri, M.; Farkas, E.; Park, J. S.; Lee, B.G.; Oh, S.-O.; Hur, J.-S. (2016). "New and noteworthy lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi 4*" (PDF). Acta Botanica Hungarica. 58 (1–2): 75–136. doi:10.1556/034.58.2016.1-2.4.
  7. ↑ Roux, C. (2022). "Additions à la 3e édition du Catalogue des lichens de France (2). Changements nomenclaturaux importants et liste commentée des espèces et taxons infraspécifiques nouvellement trouvés en France (du 2021/09/20 au 2022/09/19)". Bulletin d'information de l'Association Française de Lichénologie (in French). 47 (1): 1–30 [30].
  8. ↑ Kondratyuk, S.; Lee, B.G.; Lőkös, L.; Halda, J.; Jang, S.-H.; Woo, J.-J.; Park, J.S.; Oh, S.-O.; Hur, J.-S. (2019). "A catalogue of lichenicolous and lichen-forming fungi from Dokdo Islands (South Korea) including two new taxa". Mycobiology. 47: 355–367.
  9. ↑ Kondratyuk, S.Y.; Lőkös, L.; Halda, J.P.; Farkas, E.; Upreti, D.K.; Thell, A.; Woo, J.-J.; Oh, S.-O.; Hur, J.-S. (2018). "New and noteworthy lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi 7" (PDF). Acta Botanica Hungarica. 60 (1–2): 115–184 [167]. doi:10.1556/034.60.2018.1-2.8.
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