Genus Sarcogyne includes lichens with a crust-like (crustose) thallus that can be cracked into small, island-like sections called areoles, which are either broadly attached or have a thick fungal base. Sometimes, the thallus is squamulose, meaning it has small, scale-like structures with a stalk less than half the width of the scale.[4]
The upper surface, or epicortex, of these lichens can vary from absent to quite thick and often gives the lichen a shiny appearance, especially in species found in dry or hot habitats. This shiny layer is particularly common in xerothermic or arid environments. The cortex, which forms the outer layer of the thallus, consists of fungal threads (hyphae) and/or round or irregular cells. The upper part of the cortex is pigmented, while the lower part is colourless and sometimes contains crystal formations visible under polarized light. These crystals can come from the lichen's own secondary metabolites or from the substrate it grows on, especially if it is limestone.[4]
The upper surface of Sarcogyne lichens is typically smooth or slightly wrinkled, and usually ranges in colour from pale to reddish-brown to black-brown, and occasionally rust-coloured. Some species may have a powdery coating (pruinose). Cracks often form in the thallus, leading to the lichen's replication through division. The photosynthetic partner (photobiont) in these lichens is of the chlorococcoid type, forming a continuous or occasionally interrupted algal layer under the surface.[4]
The lower cortex can be either present or absent. The fruiting bodies (ascomata) of Sarcogyne are typically apothecia, which are disk-shaped structures that can be immersed in the thallus or elevated. These can appear lecanorine (with a margin that looks like the thallus) or lecideine (with a distinct margin). The disk is usually red-brown to black-brown, smooth or wrinkled, sometimes with a powdery coating or pigment build-ups.[4]
Inside the apothecia, the hamathecium consists of numerous thin to stout, often branched filaments (paraphyses). The asci, which produce spores, typically contain over 100 spores and are club-shaped. The spores are usually spherical to ellipsoidal, colourless, and generally small, not exceeding 6 μm in length, except for Sarcogyne macrocarpa.[4]
Sarcogyne lichens also produce conidiomata (pycnidia), which are small, immersed structures that produce asexual spores. The conidia are small and ellipsoidal to roughly spherical in shape. Chemically, Sarcogyne species often do not produce lichen products detectable by thin-layer chromatography , but may rarely contain gyrophoric or norstictic acid, which can usually be detected with spot tests.[4]
^ abKnudsen, Kerry; Kocourková, Jana; Westberg, Martin; Wheeler, Tim (2016). "Two new species of Acarosporaceae from North America with carbonized epihymenial accretions". The Lichenologist. 48 (5): 347–354. doi:10.1017/S0024282916000256.
^ abcdKnudsen, Kerry; Adams, Julia N.; Kocourková, Jana; Wang, Yan; Ortañez, Jericho; Stajich, Jason E. (2020). "The monophyletic Sarcogyne canadensis–wheeleri clade, a newly recognized group sister to the European Acarospora glaucocarpa group". The Bryologist. 123 (1): 11–30. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-123.1.011.
^Knudsen, Kerry; Flakus, Adam; Kukwa, Martin (2012). "A contribution to the study of Acarosporaceae in South America". The Lichenologist. 44 (2): 253–262. doi:10.1017/S0024282911000703.
^ abMcCarthy, P.M.; Elix, J.A. (2017). "Two new species and a new record of Acarosporaceae (lichenized Ascomycota) from eastern Australia". Australasian Lichenology. 80: 16–27.
^Tokizawa, M.; Takeshita, S.; Ohmura, Y.; Moon, K.H. (2015). "Sarcogyne endopetrophila (Acarosporaceae, lichenized Ascomycota), a new species from Japan". Journal of Japanese Botany. 90 (1): 46–51.
^ abMcCarthy, P.M.; Kantvilas, G. (2013). "Two new species of Sarcogyne (lichenised Ascomycota, Acarosporaceae) from central and southern Australia". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. 26: 15–21.
^Knudsen, K.; Halici, M.G.; Kocakaya, M. (2009). "Sarcogyne magnispora (Acarosporaceae), a new species in the nivea group from Turkey". Mycotaxon. 107: 413–417.
^Knudsen, Kerry; Kocourková, J.; McCune, B. (2013). "Sarcogyne mitziae (Acarosporaceae), a new species from biotic soil crusts in western North America". The Bryologist. 116 (2): 122–126.
^ abcMcCarthy, P.M.; Elix, J.A. (2017). "Three new species of Sarcogyne (Acarosporaceae) from the Australian Capital Territory". Australasian Lichenology. 86: 74–86.
^Knudsen, K.; Kocourková, J. (2020). "Acarospora scottii and Sarcogyne paradoxa spp. nov. from North America". Mycotaxon. 135 (2): 453–463.
^Wang, J.H.; Wei, J.C. (2016). "A new lichenized fungus Sarcogyne parviascifera (Acarosporaceae, Ascomycota)". Mycosystema. 35 (11): 1344–1347.
^Knudsen, K.; Kocourková, J. (2018). "Sarcogyne praetermissa (Acarosporaceae), a new calcicolous lichen species from Europe, with a key to the European Sarcogyne species". Herzogia. 31 (1): 133–139.
^Knudsen, K.; Standley, S.M. (2007). "Sarcogyne". In Nash, Thomas H.; Gries, Corinna; Bungartz, Frank (eds.). Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol. 3. Tempe: Lichens Unlimited, Arizona State University. pp. 289–297.
^Nurtai, L.; Knudsen, K.; Abbas, A. (2016). "Sarcogyne saphyniana sp. nov., a saxicolous lichen from northwestern China". Mycotaxon. 131 (1): 135–139.
^McCarthy, P.M.; Elix, J.A. (2014). "Two new lichens from Mount Canobolas, New South Wales". Telopea. 16: 119–125.
^Magnusson, A.H. (1934). "On the species of Biatorella and Sarcogyne in America". Annales Cryptogamici Exotici. 7: 115–146 [135].
^Knudsen, K.; McCune, B. (2013). "A new squamulose Sarcogyne from Oregon". North American Flora. 8 (8): 1–6.
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