The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, although its members occur predominantly in temperate regions. Most members are lichens that either live on rock or on bark, but about 40 species are lichenicolous – meaning they are non-lichenised fungi that live on other lichens. Many members of the Teloschistaceae are readily identifiable by their vibrant orange to yellow hue, a result of their frequent anthraquinone content. The presence of these anthraquinone pigments, which confer protection from ultraviolet light, enabled this group to expand from shaded forest habitats to harsher environmental conditions of sunny and arid ecosystems during the Late Cretaceous.
Rusavskia elegans, commonly known as the elegant sunburst lichen, is a lichenized species of fungus in the genus Rusavskia, family Teloschistaceae. Recognized by its bright orange or red pigmentation, this species grows on rocks, often near bird or rodent perches. It has a circumpolar and alpine distribution. It was one of the first lichens to be used for the rock-face dating method known as lichenometry.
Xanthoria is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. Common names include orange lichen, orange wall lichen, and sunburst lichen. They can be identified by their characteristic squamulose morphology with distinctive "fairy cups".
Xanthomendoza is a genus of small, bright orange foliose lichens with lecanorine apothecia. It is in the family Teloschistaceae. Members of the genus are commonly called sunburst lichens or orange lichens because of their bright orange color.
Josefpoeltia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has three species. The genus was circumscribed in 1997 by lichenologists Sergey Kondratyuk and Ingvar Kärnefelt, with J. boliviensis assigned as the type species. The genus name honours lichenologist Josef Poelt, (1924-1995) who was a German-Austrian botanist and was Professor of Systematic Botany at the Free University of Berlin in 1965.
Oxneria is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has four species. The genus was circumscribed in 2003 by Sergey Kondratyuk and Ingvar Kärnefelt, with Oxneria alfredii assigned as the type species.
Gallowayella aphrodites is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in the Mediterranean countries Greece, Cyprus, and Italy. Characteristics of the lichen include its small thallus, the disposition of the rhizines on the thallus undersurface, and the lack of vegetative propagules.
Gallowayella hasseana, the poplar sunburst lichen, is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It occurs in North America.
Rusavskia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 12 species. It is a member of the subfamily Xanthorioideae. The thallus of Rusavskia is characterized by its foliose (leaf-like) structure with distinct and typically narrow lobes that curve outwards.
Opeltia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has four species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens.
Martinjahnsia is a single-species fungal genus in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains the sole species Martinjahnsia resendei, a saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen.
Gallowayella fulva is a species of foliose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It was first scientifically described in 1796 by German lichenologist Georg Franz Hoffmann, who classified it as a member of genus Lobaria. It has also been classified in the genera Oxneria, Xanthomendoza and Xanthoria in its taxonomic history. Sergey Kondratyuk and colleagues transferred the taxon to the genus Gallowayella in 2012, based on a molecular phylogenetics-based restructuring of some genera in the subfamily Xanthorioideae of family Teloschistaceae. In North America, one vernacular name for the species is the bare-bottomed sunburst lichen.
Xanthoria yorkensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in South Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by lichenologists Sergey Kondratyuk and Ingvar Kärnefelt. The type specimen, collected along the Maitland road in Yorke Peninsula, was found growing on Melaleuca trees in mallee scrub. The species epithet refers to its type locality, the only place the lichen is known to occur. Kondratyuk and colleagues proposed to transfer the taxon to the newly circumscribed Jackelixia in 2009, but this genus has not been widely accepted by other authorities.
Xanthoria kangarooensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by lichenologists Sergey Kondratyuk and Ingvar Kärnefelt. The type specimen was collected from East Kangaroo Island, where it was found growing on dead Lycium ferocissimum shrubs. Other associated lichens include species of Pyxine, Ramalina, and Rinodina. The species epithet kangarooensis refers to its type locality, the only place the lichen is known to occur. Kondratyuk and colleagues proposed to transfer the taxon to the newly circumscribed Jackelixia in 2009, but this genus has not been widely accepted by other authorities.
Gallowayella montana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It occurs in North America.
Xanthaptychia aurantiaca, the Arctic orangebush lichen, is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), fruticose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. This small orange lichen is endemic to the Canadian Arctic and is known from a few scattered collections across this region. It was classified as an endangered species by the IUCN in 2020.
Gallowayella weberi is a species of corticolous and saxicolous, foliose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in the eastern United States, it is a small lichen with a smooth yellow to orange upper surface and a contrasting white lower surface.
Xanthomendoza oregana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It forms an orange to bright-yellow thallus with ascending lobes that gives it the overall appearance of a tuft. The lichen occurs in western and northern Europe and western North America.
Gallowayella borealis is a species of saxicolous and muscicolous, lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. The lichen is characterized by a foliose (leafy) thallus that forms small, cushion-like clusters, with lobes that are often convex and have a distinctive orange colour with a reddish tint, occasionally covered in pruina. It reproduces vegetatively through abundant soralia producing rounded, granule-like soredia. Chemically, it contains high levels of parietin among other lichen products. Gallowayella borealis thrives on both horizontal and vertical rock surfaces, often enriched by guano, and is particularly abundant in continental Antarctica, co-existing with Polycauliona candelaria near penguin rookeries. It has a bipolar distribution, found in the Arctic and boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere as well as in ice-free zones of continental Antarctica.
