Psilolechia

Psilolechia
Psilolechia lucida
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Lecanoromycetes
Order:	Lecanorales
Family:	Psilolechiaceae S. Stenroos, Miadl. & Lutzoni (2014)
Genus:	Psilolechia A.Massal. (1860)
Type species
Psilolechia lucida (Ach.) M.Choisy (1949)
Species
P. clavulifera P. leprosa P. lucida P. purpurascens

Psilolechia is a genus of four species of crustose lichens. It is the only member of Psilolechiaceae, a family that was created in 2014 to contain this genus.

Taxonomy

The genus Psilolechia was established by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1860.[1] Formerly classified in the family Pilocarpaceae,[2] molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that Psilolechia represented a distinct lineage that deserved placement at the familial level, the Psilolechiaceae, which was formally circumscribed in 2014.[3] This arrangement was accepted in later large-scale updates of fungal classification.[4][5][6] Psilolechiaceae is in the order Lecanorales, in the suborder Sphaerophorineae, which also includes the families Pilocarpaceae, Psoraceae, and Ramalinaceae.[3]

Description

Psilolechiaceae is a monogeneric family of crustose lichens with effuse, ecorticate (lacking a cortex), leprose thalli formed by goniocysts (aggregations of photobiont cells surrounded by short-celled hyphae) containing Trebouxia or stichococcoid algae. The apothecia lack a distinct margin, and the asci are 8-spored and have a cylindrical to clavate shape. They feature a central, elongated tube-like structure, and a non-amyloid ascus wall surrounded by a thin outer layer. Both the tube-like structure and the thin outer layer stain dark blue in K/I. Ascospores are oblong-ovoid to tear-shaped, simple (rarely 1-septate in P. leprosa), and hyaline.[3]

Species

Psilolechia contains four species:[7]

• Psilolechia clavulifera (Nyl.) Coppins (1983)[8] – widespread
• Psilolechia leprosa Coppins & Purvis (1987)[9] – north-west Europe; Greenland
• Psilolechia lucida (Ach.) M.Choisy (1949) – widespread
• Psilolechia purpurascens Coppins & Purvis (1987)[9] – Tasmania

Psilolechia species grow in locations that are humid and shaded.[3] P. leprosa tends to grow on mineral-enriched rocks and siliceous rocks,[10] and is often recorded around old mines.[11]

References

1. Massalongo, A.B. (1860). "Esame comparativo di alcune genere di licheni". Atti dell'Istituto Veneto Scienze (in Italian). 5: 247–276.
2. Lumbsch, T.H.; Huhndorf, S.M. (December 2007). "Outline of Ascomycota – 2007". Myconet. 13. Chicago, USA: The Field Museum, Department of Botany: 1–58.
3. Miadlikowska, Jolanta; Kauff, Frank; Högnabba, Filip; Oliver, Jeffrey C.; Molnár, Katalin; Fraker, Emily; Gaya, Ester; Hafellner, Josef; Hofstetter, Valérie; Gueidan, Cécile; Otálora, Mónica A.G.; Hodkinson, Brendan; Kukwa, Martin; Lücking, Robert; Björk, Curtis; Sipman, Harrie J.M.; Burgaz, Ana Rosa; Thell, Arne; Passo, Alfredo; Myllys, Leena; Goward, Trevor; Fernández-Brime, Samantha; Hestmark, Geir; Lendemer, James; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten; Schmull, Michaela; Schoch, Conrad; Sérusiaux, Emmanuël; Maddison, David R.; Arnold, A. Elizabeth; Lutzoni, François; Stenroos, Soili (2014). "A multigene phylogenetic synthesis for the class Lecanoromycetes (Ascomycota): 1307 fungi representing 1139 infrageneric taxa, 317 genera and 66 families". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 79: 132–168. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.04.003. PMC 4185256. PMID 24747130.
4. Lücking, Robert; Hodkinson, Brendan P.; Leavitt, Steven D. (2017). "The 2016 classification of lichenized fungi in the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota–Approaching one thousand genera". The Bryologist. 119 (4): 361–416. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-119.4.361. S2CID 90258634.
5. Wijayawardene, Nalin N.; Hyde, Kevin D.; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten; Liu, Jian Kui; Maharachchikumbura, Sajeewa S. N.; Ekanayaka, Anusha H.; Tian, Qing; Phookamsak, Rungtiwa (2018). "Outline of Ascomycota: 2017". Fungal Diversity. 88 (1): 167–263. doi:10.1007/s13225-018-0394-8. S2CID 7485476.
6. Wijayawardene, Nalin; Hyde, Kevin; LKT, Al-Ani; S, Dolatabadi; Stadler, Marc; Haelewaters, Danny; Tsurykau, Andrei; Mesic, Armin; Navathe, Sudhir; Papp, Viktor; Oliveira Fiuza, Patrícia; Vázquez, Víctor; Gautam, Ajay; Becerra, Alejandra G.; Ekanayaka, Anusha; K. C., Rajeshkumar; Bezerra, Jadson; Matočec, Neven; Maharachchikumbura, Sajeewa; Suetrong, Satinee (2020). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa". Mycosphere. 11: 1060–1456. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/11/1/8. hdl:10481/61998.
7. "Psilolechia". Mycobank. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
8. Coppins, Brian John (1983). A Taxonomic Study of the Lichen Genus Micarea in Europe. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History. Vol. 11. London: British Museum (Natural History). p. 201.
9. Coppins, B.J.; Purvis, O.W. (1987). "A review of Psilolechia". The Lichenologist. 19 (1): 29–42. doi:10.1017/S0024282987000045. S2CID 86264849.
10. Czarnota, Paweł; Kukwa, Martin (2008). "Contribution to the knowledge of some poorly known lichens in Poland. II. The genus Psilolechia". Folia Cryptog. Estonica. 44: 9–15.
11. Purvis, O.W.; Halls, C. (1996). "A review of lichens in metal-enriched environments". The Lichenologist. 28 (6): 571–601. doi:10.1006/lich.1996.0052. S2CID 86235930.