The Collemataceae are a lichenized

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of fungi in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Peltigerales Peltigerales is an order of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The taxonomy of the group has seen numerous changes; it was formerly often treated as a suborder of the order Lecanorales. It ...

. The family contains ten

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

and about 325 species. The family has a widespread distribution.

Taxonomy

The family was circumscribed by Jonathan Carl Zenker in 1827; ''

Collema ''Collema'' (jelly lichen) is a genus of lichens in the family Collemataceae. The photobiont is the cyanobacterium genus ''Nostoc''.Dobson, F.S. (2000) Lichens, an illustrated guide to the British and Irish species. 4th edition. Richmond publi ...

'' is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nomina ...

Description

Collemataceae members have a thallus that is either

foliose Foliose lichen is one of the morphological classes of lichens, which are complex organisms that arise from the symbiotic relationship between fungi and a photosynthetic partner, typically algae. This partnership allows lichen to live in divers ...

crustose Crustose is a habit of some types of algae and lichens in which the organism grows tightly appressed to a substrate, forming a biological layer. ''Crustose'' adheres very closely to the substrates at all points. ''Crustose'' is found on rocks a ...

squamulose A squamulose lichen is a lichen that is composed of small, often overlapping "scales" called squamules. If they are raised from the substrate and appear leafy, the lichen may appear to be a foliose lichen, but the underside does not have a "skin ...

or minutely shrubby. The thallus is gelatinous, sometimes swelling when wet, with a colour ranging from dark olive-green to brown-black, reddish brown or rarely grey-blue. The upper and lower cortex is either absent or composed of angular brick-like cells, more rarely of flattened compressed cells. The medulla contains loosely interwoven narrow

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 or is compact with broad-short-celled hyphae; these hyphae are intermixed with the

photobiont A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.arachnoid Arachnoid may refer to: * Relating to arachnids * Arachnoid (astrogeology), a geological structure found only on the planet Venus * Arachnoid (botany), referring to organs with a cobwebby exterior appearance * Arachnoid granulation, small protr ...

. The underside of the cortex is smooth, arachnoid or hairy, sometimes with scattered or groups of white

rhizine In lichens, rhizines are multicellular root-like structures, arising mostly from the lower surface. A lichen with rhizines is termed rhizinate, while a lichen lacking rhizines is termed erhizinate. Rhizines serve only to anchor the lichen to their ...

Isidia An isidium is a vegetative reproductive structure present in some lichens. Isidia are outgrowths of the thallus surface, and are corticated (i.e., containing the outermost layer of the thallus), usually with a columnar structure, and consisting ...

are often present, while

soredia Soredia are common reproductive structures of lichens. Lichens reproduce asexually by employing simple fragmentation and production of soredia and isidia. Soredia are powdery propagules composed of fungal hyphae wrapped around cyanobacteria or ...

are absent. The

photobiont A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Nostoc ''Nostoc'', also known as star jelly, troll’s butter, spit of moon, fallen star, witch's butter (not to be confused with the fungi commonly known as witches' butter), and witch’s jelly, is the most common genus of cyanobacteria found in vari ...

'' (rarely '' Stigonema''), with their cells often arranged in distinct chains.

Genera

This is a list of the genera in the Collemataceae, based on a 2020 review and summary of fungal

classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...

by Wijayawardene and colleagues, and including a new genus, '' Hondaria'',

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every po ...

in 2020. Following the genus name is the

taxonomic authority In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

(those who first circumscribed the genus; standardized author abbreviations are used), year of publication, and the number of species: *'' Blennothallia'' – 4 spp. *'' Callome'' – 1 sp. *''

'' – ca. 35 spp. *'' Enchylium'' – 11 spp. *'' Hondaria'' – 1 sp. *'' Lathagrium'' – 10 spp. *'' Leptogium'' – ca. 110 spp. *'' Pseudoleptogium'' – 1 sp. *'' Rostania'' – 3 + 4 orphaned spp. *'' Scytinium'' – 49 spp.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2983005 Peltigerales Taxa described in 1827 Lichen families Lecanoromycetes families Taxa named by Jonathan Carl Zenker