St. Matthew Island is an uninhabited, remote island in the Bering Sea in Alaska, 183 miles (295 km) west-northwest of Nunivak Island. The entire island's natural scenery and wildlife is protected as it is part of the Bering Sea unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
The Lecanoraceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the order Lecanorales. Species of this family have a widespread distribution.
Biatora is a genus of lichens in the family Ramalinaceae. First described in 1817, the genus consists of crustose and squamulose lichens with green algal photobionts, biatorine apothecia, colorless, simple to 3-septate ascospores, and bacilliform pycnospores. According to the Dictionary of the Fungi, the genus contains 42 species that are widely distributed in temperate areas.
Bacidia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Giuseppe De Notaris in 1846. Species in the genus are crust-like lichens with stemless apothecia; they have green algae (chloroccoid) as photobionts. Their asci have 8 colorless, cylindrical to acicular, multiseptate spores, with curved and thread-like conidia.
Fuscopannaria is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pannariaceae. It has 55 species.
Sagiolechia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Sagiolechiaceae. The genus was circumscribed by lichenologist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1854, who assigned Sagiolechia protuberans as the type species. The family Sagiolechiaceae was proposed in 2010 to contain Sagiolechia as the type genus, and genus Rhexophiale; molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that these two genera formed a distinct clade in the Ostropales.
Rhizocarpon is a genus of crustose, saxicolous, lecideoid lichens in the family Rhizocarpaceae. The genus is common in arctic-alpine environments, but also occurs throughout temperate, subtropical, and even tropical regions. They are commonly known as map lichens because of the prothallus forming border-like bands between colonies in some species, like the common map lichen.
Lepraria is a genus of leprose crustose lichens that grows on its substrate like patches of granular, caked up, mealy dust grains. Members of the genus are commonly called dust lichens. The main vegetative body (thallus) is made of patches of soredia. There are no known mechanisms for sexual reproduction, yet members of the genus continue to speciate. Some species can form marginal lobes and appear squamulose. Because of the morphological simplicity of the thallus and the absence of sexual structures, the composition of lichen products are important characters to distinguish between similar species in Lepraria.
Coccotrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi. It is the type genus of the family Coccotremataceae, in the order Pertusariales. The genus contains 16 species.
Corticifraga is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. The genus was circumscribed by David Leslie Hawksworth and Rolf Santesson in 1990, with Corticifraga peltigerae assigned as the type species.
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.
Lambiella is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Xylographaceae. The genus was circumscribed by German botanist Hannes Hertel in 1984, with Lambiella psephota assigned as the type species.
Steineropsis is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pannariaceae. It has two species. The genus was circumscribed by Toby Spribille and Lucia Muggia in 2010, with Steineropsis alaskana assigned as the type species. The type specimen of this lichen was found in Skagway, Alaska, where it was growing on a rock in a snowbed at an altitude of 1,051 m (3,448 ft). The generic name alludes to a resemblance to the genus Steinera. A second species, Steineropsis laceratula, also found in Alaska, was added to the genus in 2020. Molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that Steineropsis has a sister taxon relationship to genus Protopannaria.
Atrophysma is a fungal genus in the family Pannariaceae. It contains the single species Atrophysma cyanomelanos, a crustose lichen found only in Alaska.
Porpidia seakensis is a species of crustose lichen in the family Lecideaceae. It is an endolithic species, meaning it grows inside the rocks, between the grains. Found only in Alaska, it was formally described as a new species in 2020 by British lichenologist Alan Fryday. The type specimen was collected in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, in Glacier Bay National Park. Here it was discovered growing on granitic rock in a woodland. The lichen is only known from this area, although it is locally common. Its preferred habitat is siliceous rocks and boulders in wooded areas that are open and well lit. The specific epithet seakensis uses the letters "seak" to refer to a standard abbreviation for southeast Alaska.
Fuscidea muskeg is a species of crustose lichen in the family Fuscideaceae. Found in Alaska, it was described as a new species in 2020 by Tor Tønsberg and Martina Zahradníková. The type species was collected in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area of Glacier Bay National Park. Here it was found growing on a branch of the tree Pinus contorta in muskeg. The specific epithet muskeg is an Algonquin word for a blanket bog.
Jamesiella dacryoidea is a thin, translucent grey-colored, teardrop-shaped lichen species that is differentiated from other species of Jamesiella by its color and shape. This lichen grows on rocks near bodies of saltwater, typically on top of bryophytes. Jamesiella dacryoidea is found on the southeast coast of Alaska and was discovered in Petersburg Borough, Alaska. This species is named after its teardrop shape, as dacryoideus in Latin means tear-shaped.
Gyalectidium floridense is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. It is found in the southeastern United States, where it grows on the leaves of Citrus and palmetto.
Protothelenella is a genus of fungi in the family Protothelenellaceae. It contains 11 species, some of which form lichens. Protothelenella species have a crustose thallus with spherical to pear-shaped, dark brown to blackish perithecia. Microscopic characteristics of the genus include bitunicate asci with an amyloid tholus, and ascospores that are colourless and contain multiple internal partitions. Some species grow on acidic substrates including rocks, soil, bryophytes, plant detritus or rotten wood. Other species are lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling), growing on species of Solorina, Peltigera, Pseudocyphellaria, or Cladonia.
Schaereria porpidioides is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Schaereriaceae. It is found in the Falkland Islands.
