''Emodomelanelia'' is a lichen

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 ...

in the family

Parmeliaceae The Parmeliaceae is a large and diverse family of Lecanoromycetes. With over 2700 species in 71 genera, it is the largest family of lichen-forming fungi. The most speciose genera in the family are the well-known groups: '' Xanthoparmelia'' ( 82 ...

. It is

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 "unisp ...

, containing the single

foliose A foliose lichen is a lichen with flat, leaf-like , which are generally not firmly bonded to the substrate on which it grows. It is one of the three most common lichen growth forms, growth forms of lichens. It typically has distinct upper and lo ...

Himalayan species ''Emodomelanelia masonii''.

Taxonomy

''Emodomelanelia masonii'' was first described in 1991 as ''Parmelia masonii'' by lichenologists Theodore Esslinger and Josef Poelt. It was named in honour of

Mason Hale Mason Ellsworth Hale, Jr. (September 23, 1929 – April 23, 1990) was one of the most prolific American lichenologists of the 20th century. Many of his scholarly articles focused on the taxonomy of the family Parmeliaceae. Hale was one of the fi ...

, the "preeminent student of the Parmeliaceae". 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 2010 by Pradeep Kumar Divakar and

Ana Crespo Ana María Crespo de las Casas (born 30 March 1948, Santa Cruz de Tenerife) is a Spanish lichenologist noted for studying the phytosociology, taxonomy and floristics of Mediterranean lichens. She was awarded the 2012 Acharius Medal from the Int ...

. ''Emodomelanelia'' is in the "Melanohalea"

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

(one of nine major groups in the Parmelioid clade of the Parmeliaceae) along with the genera '' Melanelixia'' and ''

Melanohalea ''Melanohalea'' is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains 30 mostly Northern Hemisphere species that grow on bark or on wood. The genus is characterised by the presence of pseudocyphellae (tiny pores that allow f ...

''. The genus name combines ''emodo'' (referring to the Himalayas) and ''melanelia'' (referring to the brown colour of the upper thallus surface).

Description

Characteristics of the genus ''Emodomelanelia'' include an olive brown to brown

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 ...

, narrow to moderately broad lobes, a non-pored epicortex, the presence of effigurate

pseudocyphella Pseudocyphellae (singular ''pseudocyphella'') are structures in lichens that appear as tiny pores on the outer surface (the cortex) of the lichen. They are caused when there is a break in the cortex of the lichen, and the medullary hyphae extend ...

e (i.e. with a lobed shape), and bifusiform

conidia A conidium ( ; : conidia), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (: chlamydoconidia), is an asexual, non- motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also ...

. The

cortex Cortex or cortical may refer to: Biology * Cortex (anatomy), the outermost layer of an organ ** Cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the vertebrate cerebrum, part of which is the ''forebrain'' *** Motor cortex, the regions of the cerebral cortex i ...

stains green with HNO₃⁺.

Habitat and distribution

''Emodomelanelia masonii'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Himalayas, where it grows on rocks in

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

and

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

habitats. It has been recorded from mainland China, India, Nepal and Taiwan.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21223332 Monotypic Lecanorales genera Lichen genera Parmeliaceae Taxa described in 2010 Taxa named by Josef Poelt