''Coppinsia'' is a

genus 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 n ...

of lichenized

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

in the family

Trapeliaceae Trapeliaceae is a family of lichens in the order Baeomycetales. The family contains 12 genera and about 125 species. Taxonomy Trapeliaceae was originally circumscribed by French lichenologist Maurice Choisy in 1929. Hannes Hertel emended the f ...

. This is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus, containing the single species ''Coppinsia minutissima''. The genus name of ''Coppinsia'' is in honour of

Brian John Coppins Brian John Coppins (born 1949) is a botanist and lichenologist, considered a world authority on crustose lichens and a leading expert on the genus '' Micarea''. Education Coppins' interest in lichens was sparked during a field trip to the Scot ...

(b.1949), British botanist (Mycology and Lichenology), who worked in the

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (calle ...

of the

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

. The genus was

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 ...

by Helge Thorsten Lumbsch and Esther Heibel in Lichenologist Vol.30 on page 96 in 1998.

References

Baeomycetales Baeomycetales genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 1998 Taxa named by Helge Thorsten Lumbsch {{Lecanoromycetes-stub