''Roccellinastrum'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

-forming

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in the family

Pilocarpaceae The Pilocarpaceae are a family of crustose lichens in the order Lecanorales. The species of this family have a cosmopolitan distribution and have been found in a variety of climatic regions. Pilocarpaceae was circumscribed by Alexander Zahlbruck ...

. It has seven species.

Taxonomy

The genus was

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

in 1968 by German lichenologist Gerhard Follman, with ''

Roccellinastrum spongoideum ''Roccellinastrum'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pilocarpaceae. It has seven species. Taxonomy The genus was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed in 1968 by German lichenologist Gerhard Follman, with ''Roccellinastrum sp ...

'' assigned as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. This

byssoid lichen Lichens are symbiotic organisms made up of multiple species: a fungus, one or more photobionts (an alga and/or a cyanobacteria) and sometimes a yeast. They are regularly grouped by their external appearance – a characteristic known as their gro ...

(appearing wispy, like teased wool) was found growing on cactus spines in the fog oases of western Chile. Follman classified the genus in the family

Chrysothricaceae Chrysotrichaceae is a family of lichenized fungi in the order Arthoniales. Member of this family have a widespread distribution, but are especially prevalent in tropical areas. "Chrysothrichaceae" and "Chrysothricaceae" are alternative spellings ...

, as he emphasized the

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

importance of the byssoid

thallus Thallus (: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. A thallus usually names the entir ...

, and the similarity of the

apothecium An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascoc ...

and

ascus An ascus (; : asci) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some gen ...

structure to those in that family. In 1983,

Aino Henssen Aino Marjatta Henssen (12 April 1925, Elberfeld – 29 August 2011, Marburg), was a German lichenologist and systematist. Her father, Gottfried Henssen, was a folklorist and her mother was Finnish. Education and career Henssen began her studies ...

and colleagues emended the genus and placed it in the family

Lecideaceae The Lecideaceae are a family (biology), family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Lecideales. It contains about 30 genus, genera and roughly 250 species. A major distinguishing characteristic of the family is the form of the ascomata, fruit ...

. ''Roccellinastrum'' is now classified in the family

Description

Species in genus ''Roccellinastrum'' are characterized by

apothecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. As ...

of diverse shape that lack a proper margin, and a developmental morphology corresponding to that of the order

Lecanorales The Lecanorales are an order of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The order contains 26 families, 269 genera, and 5695 species. Families Suborder Lecanorineae * Biatorellacea ...

. They have small,

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of typically 7–13 nm in diameter, a β-sheet secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the human ...

asci containing eight spores, and branched

paraphyses Paraphyses are erect sterile filament-like support structures occurring among the reproductive apparatuses of fungi, ferns, bryophytes and some thallophytes. The singular form of the word is paraphysis. In certain fungi, they are part of the f ...

and excipular

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

e. Their wispy (''byssoid'') to spongy (''spongiose'') thallus is made of thick–walled hyphae. The

phycobiont A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualistic relationship.

partners are

green algae The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/ Streptophyta. The land plants ...

of the order

Chlorococcales Chlorococcales is a formerly recognized Order (biology), order of green algae in the Class (biology), class Chlorophyceae. , the type family Chlorococcaceae was placed in the order Chlamydomonadales. Conventionally, many groups of coccoid green ...

. The main secondary chemical produced by ''Roccellinastrum'' lichens is

protocetraric acid Protocetraric acid is a chemical compound with the molecular formula . It is a secondary metabolite produced by a variety of lichens and is classified as a depsidone. History In 1845 Knop and Schnedermann isolated crystalline cetraric acid fro ...

. Other compounds, such as

atranorin Atranorin is a chemical substance produced by some species of lichen. It is a secondary metabolite belonging to a group of compounds known as depsides. Atranorin has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxic, antioxidant, ...

or squamatic acid, may also be present.

Species

*'' Roccellinastrum candidum'' *'' Roccellinastrum epiphyllum'' *'' Roccellinastrum flavescens'' –

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

*'' Roccellinastrum lagarostrobi'' – Tasmania *'' Roccellinastrum leprocauloides'' –

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia *'' Roccellinastrum neglectum'' *''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10656235 Pilocarpaceae Lecanorales genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 1968