''Gyalolechia'' 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 ...

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 ...

belonging to 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 contains about 20 species of

crustose lichen Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the Substrate (biology), substrate (soil, rock, tree bark, etc.), making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichen ...

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 ...

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 1852. He included two species: '' G. bracteata'' and '' G. aurea''. Although Massalongo did not designate a

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 ...

for the genus,

Josef Poelt Josef Poelt was a botanist, bryologist and lichenologist. He held the chair in Systematic Botany and Plant Geography at the Free University of Berlin (1965 - 1972) and then was head of the Botanical Institute and Botanical Garden of Graz Universi ...

assigned ''G. aurea'' to that status in 1965. After Massalongo introduced the

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 ...

genus ''

Fulgensia ''Fulgensia'' is a fungal genus in the family Teloschistaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo and Giuseppe De Notaris in 1853, with ''Fulgensia vulgaris'' assigned as the type species. Although the genus has had se ...

'' in 1853, ''Gyalolechia'' fell out of use. ''Gyalolechia'' was resurrected for use by Ulf Arup and colleagues in 2013, as part of a

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 ...

-based restructuring of the Teloschistaceae. ''Gyalolechia'', which is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

to the genus '' Blastenia'', contains most of the species formerly assigned to the genus ''

'', the species group centred around the

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

formerly known as ''Caloplaca flavorubescens'', and other species that contain

fragilin Fragilin is a chemical compound of the anthraquinone class. It has the molecular formula and is a chlorinated derivative of parietin. In 1965, it was reported as a constituent of the lichens ''Sphaerophorus fragilis'' and ''Sphaerophorus corall ...

as the dominant

lichen product Lichen products, also known as lichen substances, are organic compounds produced by a lichen. Specifically, they are secondary metabolites. Lichen products are represented in several different chemical classes, including terpenoids, orcinol deri ...

. Twenty-five species were included in the new circumscription of the genus, but this number has since diminished as several species have been transferred from it to other new genera, including '' Athallia'', ''

Cerothallia ''Cerothallia'' is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has four species, all of which occur in the Southern Hemisphere. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Patrik Frödén, and Ulrik Søchting, with '' Cerot ...

'', ''

Elenkiniana ''Elenkiniana'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has three species, all of which occur in Eurasia. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed in 2014 by the lichenologists Sergey Kondratyuk, Ingvar Kärnefelt, Joh ...

'', '' Laundonia'', '' Mikhtomia'', ''

Opeltia ''Opeltia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has four species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed in 2017 by lichenologists Sergey Kondratyuk and Laszlo L� ...

'', and ''

Oxneriopsis ''Oxneriopsis'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has four species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed in 2017 by the lichenologists Sergey Kondratyuk, Dalip ...

''.

Description

The

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 ...

of ''Gyalolechia'' presents as a crust-like structure that can take on various forms, ranging from small scales to resembling leaves. The , or outer layer, of the lichen exhibits several distinct types: *False cortex, which resembles a cortex but does not function as one. *Cortex consisting of irregular

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, characterized by long and narrow cell (the spaces within the hyphae). * cortex, featuring closely packed hyphae. *Cortex with arranged hyphae, where the hyphae are oriented at right angles, and the cell lumina are oval or oblong. The cell walls in this type of cortex are weakly gelatinized. , the reproductive structures of the lichen, start as and may transition into a form. These structures are typically coloured in shades of orange to brownish-orange and contain

anthraquinone Anthraquinone, also called anthracenedione or dioxoanthracene, is an aromatic hydrocarbon, aromatic organic compound with formula . Several isomers exist but these terms usually refer to 9,10-anthraquinone (IUPAC: 9,10-dioxoanthracene) wherein th ...

compounds. The produced by ''Gyalolechia'' lichens exhibit variability in shape and structure. They can be , meaning they have a short to long

septum In biology, a septum (Latin language, Latin for ''something that encloses''; septa) is a wall, dividing a Body cavity, cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Hum ...

. Their walls are thin, and no visible channels are present. Spores can take on fusiform (spindle-shaped), narrowly to broadly

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 ...

(similar to an elongated oval), or pyriform (pear-shaped) shapes. Occasionally, these spores may exhibit a slight curvature. The (structures associated with

asexual reproduction Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the f ...

) of ''Gyaloechia'' are typically orange and can be either unchambered or multi-chambered. The , which are asexual spores produced within pycnidia, range in shape from bacilliform (rod-shaped) to ellipsoid.

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 ...

) includes 18 species in ''Gyalolechia''. Fulgensia fulgens Plouharnel 2010-01-16

* '' Gyalolechia allochroa'' * '' Gyalolechia bracteata'' * '' Gyalolechia canariensis'' * '' Gyalolechia cranfieldii'' * '' Gyalolechia desertorum'' * '' Gyalolechia epiphyta'' * '' Gyalolechia epiplacynthium'' * ''

Gyalolechia farinosa ''Gyalolechia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It contains about 20 species of crustose lichens. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1852. He included two specie ...

'' – China * '' Gyalolechia flavovirescens'' * ''

Gyalolechia fruticum ''Gyalolechia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It contains about 20 species of crustose lichens. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1852. He included two specie ...

'' – Europe * '' Gyalolechia fulgens'' * '' Gyalolechia fulgida'' * '' Gyalolechia klementii'' * '' Gyalolechia persimilis'' * '' Gyalolechia pruinosa'' * ''

Gyalolechia pustutata ''Gyalolechia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It contains about 20 species of crustose lichens. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1852. He included two specie ...

'' – China * '' Gyalolechia stantonii'' * '' Gyalolechia stipitata'' * '' Gyalolechia subbracteata'' * '' Gyalolechia xanthostigmoidea''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q26208178 Teloschistales Teloschistales genera Lichen genera Taxa named by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo Taxa described in 1852