''Flavoplaca'' 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 crust-like or scaly

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 ...

s in the family

Teloschistaceae The Teloschistaceae are a large family (biology), family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class (taxonomy), class Lecanoromycetes in the division (botany), division Ascomycota. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, althoug ...

. It has about 30 species with a mostly Northern Hemisphere distribution.

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Patrik Frödén and Ulrik Søchting, with '' Flavoplaca citrina'' 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 ...

. The genus formed a well-supported

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 ...

molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis. ''Flavoplaca'' species are closely related to '' Calogaya'' species that have lobes. There are other genera with roughly similar morphological features as ''Flavoplaca'' (examples include '' Polycauliona'', '' Orientophila'', '' Sirenophila'', and '' Villophora''), but they are genetically different and have different distributions. Arup and colleagues included 26 species in the genus; most were originally named as members of the genera '' Caloplaca'' or ''

Lecanora ''Lecanora'' is a genus of lichen commonly called rim lichens.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, Lichens in the genus '' Squamarina'' are also called rim lichens. Members of the genus have roughly c ...

''. Recent molecular studies have continued to refine the taxonomy of the genus. In 2024, three additional species were transferred to ''Flavoplaca'' based on phylogenetic analysis: ''F. ruderum'', ''F. itiana'', and ''F. sol''. These transfers helped resolve several taxonomic uncertainties within the group. ''F. ruderum'' was found to be closely related to ''F. communis'', ''F. maritima'', and ''F. havaasii'', forming a well-supported

within the genus. The study also clarified historical confusion surrounding the identities of ''F. itiana'', ''F. calcitrapa'', and '' Caloplaca dalmatica'', demonstrating that some specimens previously identified as ''C. dalmatica'' actually represent ''F. itiana''.

Description

''Flavoplaca'' species have a

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 is either crust-like (

crustose Crustose is a Habit (biology), 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 Substrate (biology), substrates at all poin ...

) or scaly (squamulose), sometimes with indistinct edges, and sometimes with lobes. They often have apothecia, and these are , meaning that the (the ring-shaped layer surrounding the

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 ...

) is enclosed in the .

Pycnidia A pycnidium (plural pycnidia) is an asexual fruiting body produced by mitosporic fungi, for instance in the order Sphaeropsidales ( Deuteromycota, Coelomycetes) or order Pleosporales (Ascomycota, Dothideomycetes). It is often spherical or inve ...

can be present or absent; the

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 ...

have a

bacilliform Bacterial cellular morphologies are the shapes that are characteristic of various types of bacteria and often key to their identification. Their direct examination under a light microscope enables the classification of these bacteria (and archaea ...

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that can be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional Scaling (geometry), scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a Surface (mathemat ...

shape. The morphology of species within the genus can vary significantly. Some species, such as ''F. ruderum'', display a distinctive uneven thallus composed of strongly convex to or almost (spherical) areoles that can sometimes appear almost squamulose. The presence of (a powdery or waxy surface coating) varies among populations and species; for example, Swedish specimens of ''F. ruderum'' show less pruinosity than their British counterparts. The apothecia are typically large and zeorine in structure. Four ''Flavoplaca'' species are lichenicolous; that is, they grow on other lichens. These are '' F. coronata'' (on saxicolous lichens), '' F. microthallina'' (on saxicolous lichens, commonly '' Hydropunctaria maura''), '' F. oasis'' (on saxicolous lichens, particularly '' Bagliettoa calciseda''), and '' F. polycarpa'' (on '' Bagliettoa''). Only ''F. polycarpa'' has a truly lichenicolous mode of life; the others are facultatively lichenicolous, i.e., commonly collected from lichens but also known to grow on non-lichen substrates. The genus shows distinct ecological preferences, with many species favouring

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

substrates. Some species are specifically adapted to coastal environments, while others prefer inland habitats. For example, ''F. ruderum'' typically grows on soft calcareous walls and mortar, particularly in well-lit locations, while related species like ''F. communis'' and ''F. maritima'' are largely confined to seashore rocks or coastal areas with high salinity exposure.

Species

Most ''Flavoplaca'' species occur in the Northern Hemisphere, and many are found in Europe. ,

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 ...

accepts 28 species of ''Flavoplaca'': *'' Flavoplaca arcis'' *'' Flavoplaca arcisproxima'' *'' Flavoplaca austrocitrina'' *'' Flavoplaca calcitrapa'' *'' Flavoplaca citrina'' *'' Flavoplaca communis'' *'' Flavoplaca confusa'' *''

Flavoplaca coronata ''Flavoplaca'' is a genus of crustose lichen, crust-like or scaly lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has about 30 species with a mostly Northern Hemisphere distribution. Taxonomy The genus was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed i ...

'' *'' Flavoplaca cranfieldii'' *'' Flavoplaca dichroa'' *''

Flavoplaca flavocitrina ''Flavoplaca flavocitrina'' is a species of crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Europe, it was originally described as a new species in 1886 by the Finnish lichenologist William Nylander, who classified it as a member of t ...

'' *'' Flavoplaca geleverjae'' *'' Flavoplaca granulosa'' *'' Flavoplaca havaasii'' *'' Flavoplaca itiana'' *'' Flavoplaca kantvilasii'' *'' Flavoplaca laszloana'' *'' Flavoplaca limonia'' *'' Flavoplaca lutea'' *'' Flavoplaca marina'' *'' Flavoplaca maritima'' *'' Flavoplaca mereschkowskiana'' *''

Flavoplaca microthallina ''Flavoplaca microthallina'' is a species of crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It was described as a new species in 1875 by Hugh Algernon Weddell, as a member of the genus ''Lecanora''. After acquiring many synonyms in its taxono ...

'' *'' Flavoplaca navasiana'' *'' Flavoplaca nigromarina'' *''

Flavoplaca oasis ''Flavoplaca oasis'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is widely distributed across Europe, and has been reported in Western Asia, China, and North Africa. Taxonomy It was first formal ...

'' *'' Flavoplaca ora'' *'' Flavoplaca polycarpa'' *'' Flavoplaca ruderum'' *'' Flavoplaca sol'' *'' Flavoplaca tavaresiana''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25520529 Flavoplaca Teloschistales genera Taxa described in 2013 Lichen genera Taxa named by Ulrik Søchting Taxa named by Patrik Frödén Taxa named by Ulf Arup