''Japewia'' 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 ...

in the family

Lecanoraceae The Lecanoraceae are a family 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 c ...

. 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 1990 by the Norwegian lichenologist Tor Tønsberg, who assigned '' J. tornoënsis'' 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 new genus is named in honour of

Peter Wilfred James Peter Wilfred James (1930–2014) was an English botanist and lichenologist. He was a pioneer in the study of lichens as environmental indicators, especially of atmospheric pollution. Early life and education Peter W. James grew up in Sutton Co ...

, a notable lichenologist, with ''Japewia'' being derived from the first letters of his initials (Ja) and his surname (Pe) followed by a typical

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

suffix (-wia).

Description

''Japewia'' species incorporate

green algae The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/ Streptophyta. The land plants ...

from the order

Chlorococcales Chlorococcales is a formerly recognized Order (biology), order of green algae in the Class (biology), class Chlorophyceae. , the type family Chlorococcaceae was placed in the order Chlamydomonadales. Conventionally, many groups of coccoid green ...

into their structure. The main body of the lichen, 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 ...

, is crust-like and firmly attached to the surface it grows on. The apothecia (fruiting bodies) are typically attached to the thallus and can either have a distinct margin or lack one. These apothecia are (simple and cup-shaped) and chestnut-coloured. The

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 ...

(sterile filamentous cells in the apothecia) and the (the outer layer surrounding the apothecia) have

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 (fungal filaments) that are coated with a gelatinous sheath. These hyphae are dark on the outside, branched, and interconnected. When treated with

potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which utili ...

soluition (K), the gelatinous sheath dissolves. The tips of the paraphyses form an , which is a layer above 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 ...

(the spore-producing surface) and is red-brown or brown in colour. The asci (spore-producing cells) have an

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of typically 7–13 nm in diameter, a β-sheet secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the human ...

tholus, meaning they react to

iodine Iodine is a chemical element; it has symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists at standard conditions as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

and stain blue. Each ascus typically contains eight .

Species

* '' Japewia aliphatica'' * '' Japewia gyrophorica'' * '' Japewia subaurifera'' * '' Japewia tavaresiana'' * '' Japewia tornoensis''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6159285 Lecanoraceae Lichen genera Lecanorales genera Taxa described in 1990 Taxa named by Tor Tønsberg