Dyplolabia
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''Dyplolabia'' 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 ...
of
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
Graphidaceae The Graphidaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. The family contains nearly a hundred genera and more than 2000 species. Although the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, most Graphidaceae species occur in tropic ...
. These lichens form smooth, rather thick grey-yellow to olive-buff crusts on tree bark and are characterized by narrow, elongate
fruiting bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...
that are commonly hidden beneath a conspicuous white powdery coating. The genus has a
pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical' ...
distribution, growing on the smooth bark of trees and shrubs in both shaded
rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
understories and moderately exposed coastal woodlands, where they serve as
indicators Indicator may refer to: Biology * Environmental indicator of environmental health (pressures, conditions and responses) * Ecological indicator of ecosystem health (ecological processes) * Health indicator, which is used to describe the health ...
of long-established
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
habitat.


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 ...
by the Italian lichenologist
Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo (13 May 1824 – 25 May 1860) was an Italian paleobotanist and lichenologist. He was born in Tregnago in the Province of Verona and took a great interest in botany as a young man. Massalongo joined the faculty of med ...
in 1854, with '' Dyplolabia afzelii'' 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 ...
.


Description

''Dyplolabia'' produces a smooth, rather thick grey-yellow to olive-buff crust (
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 ...
) that lacks a protective . Its
fruit bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...
are narrow, elongate 1–6 mm long, commonly hidden beneath a conspicuous white . The sides of each lirella are deeply , while the top is covered by an intact thalline layer so the slit-like disc is scarcely visible. A pale to brown lines the base, and the clear
hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in oth ...
bears simple
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 a green-brown . The slender asci usually contain eight hyaline
ascospore In fungi, an ascospore is the sexual spore formed inside an ascus—the sac-like cell that defines the division Ascomycota, the largest and most diverse Division (botany), division of fungi. After two parental cell nucleus, nuclei fuse, the ascu ...
s that are consistently 3-septate, non-amyloid (I–) and measure about 14–20 × 6–8 
μm The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...
. Most species contain only traces of
lecanoric acid Lecanoric acid is a chemical produced by several species of lichen.ubChem - Lecanoric acid"> Lecanoric acid is classified as a polyphenol and a didepside, and it functions as an antioxidant. It is an ester of orsellinic acid with itself. The acid ...
or are chemically inert, a feature that helps separate the genus from many chemically richer
Graphidaceae The Graphidaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. The family contains nearly a hundred genera and more than 2000 species. Although the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, most Graphidaceae species occur in tropic ...
. The combination of thick white pruina, strongly carbonised lirellae and small, 3-septate, iodine-negative spores distinguishes ''Dyplolabia'' from superficially similar
script lichen A script lichen, or graphid lichen, is a member of a group of lichens which have spore producing structures that look like writing on the lichen body. The structures are elongated and narrow apothecia called lirellae, which look like short scribbl ...
genera. In '' Graphis'' and '' Glyphis'' the discs are exposed and the spores usually have more septa; ''
Fissurina ''Fissurina'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has about 160 species, most of which are found in tropical regions. Taxonomy The genus was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed by the French botanist Antoine Lau ...
'' shares carbonised margins but lacks the heavy thalline cover; while ''
Acanthothecis ''Acanthothecis'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Frederick Edward Clements in 1909. These lichens form pale grey-brown to olive-green crusts on tree bark and are characterized by ...
'' and ''
Anomomorpha ''Anomomorpha'' is a genus of lichens in the family Graphidaceae. The genus, described in 1891, has a pantropical distribution. These lichens form pale grey to dull olive crusts on tree bark that often develop low wart-like bumps covered with ...
'' have longer or iodine-positive spores and an hymenium.


Ecology

Species of ''Dyplolabia'' are
pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical' ...
and strictly
corticolous This glossary of mycology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to mycology, the study of fungi. Terms in common with other fields, if repeated here, generally focus on their mycology-specific meaning. Related terms can be found ...
, occurring on the smooth bark of trees and shrubs in both shaded rainforest
understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...
s and moderately exposed coastal
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
s. Their broad distribution—from wet Amazonian terra firma through African and Asian lowland forests to seasonally dry
savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
s and the subtropical
Atlantic Coastal Plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
of North America—suggests tolerance of a wide humidity range, yet they remain absent from heavily
disturbed Disturbed may refer to: Books * ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author) Film and TV * ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell * "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs'' * "The Disturbed", a 20 ...
stands, making them useful
indicators Indicator may refer to: Biology * Environmental indicator of environmental health (pressures, conditions and responses) * Ecological indicator of ecosystem health (ecological processes) * Health indicator, which is used to describe the health ...
of long-established
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
habitat.


Species

,
Species Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (Binomial nomenclature, scientific names) in the fungus Kingdom (biology), kingdom. As of 2015, the project is based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of three partn ...
(in the
Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life (CoL) is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxono ...
) accept five species of ''Dyplolabia'': * '' Dyplolabia afzelii'' * '' Dyplolabia chumphonensis'' * '' Dyplolabia dalywaiana'' * '' Dyplolabia ochrocheila'' * '' Dyplolabia oryzoides''


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5319258 Graphidaceae Lichen genera Graphidales genera Taxa named by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo Taxa described in 1854