''Melanohalea subolivacea'', commonly known as the brown-eyed camouflage lichen, is a species of

foliose lichen Foliose lichen is one of the morphological classes of lichens, which are complex organisms that arise from the symbiotic relationship between fungi and a photosynthetic partner, typically algae. This partnership allows lichen to live in diverse ...

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'' ( 822 ...

Taxonomy

The lichen was first documented by Finnish lichenologist William Nylander. The

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

specimen was found growing on rocks in the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, at an elevation of . The lichen was formally described in a publication by American lichenologist Hermann Edward Hasse in 1897, with authorship attributed to Nylander. Named for its resemblance to '' Parmelia olivacea'', it was distinguished from that species by its

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

size, measuring 8–9 by 5

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

. It was transferred to the genus ''

Melanelia ''Melanelia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. The genus was circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The cent ...

'' by Ted Esslinger in 1978, and then to the newly

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

genus '' Melanohalea'' in 2004. ''Melanohalea subolivacea'' has been given the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

"brown-eyed camouflage lichen".

Molecular phylogenetic 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 ...

studies of '' Melanohalea'' species show that ''Melanohalea subolivacea'' is closely related, but genetically distinct from '' M. clairi'' and '' M. mexicana''. This group of more or less morphologically indistinguishable species represent distinct evolutionary lineages that have diverged relatively recently.

Description

''Melanohalea subolivacea'' has a thin, flattened, brown to olive-brown

thallus Thallus (plural: 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. Many of these organisms wer ...

that lacks

isidia An isidium is a vegetative reproductive structure present in some lichens. Isidia are outgrowths of the thallus surface, and are corticated (i.e., containing the outermost layer of the thallus), usually with a columnar structure, and consisting o ...

or soredia. The lobes comprising the thallus measure 1–4 mm wide, and have a smooth brown lower surface that is attached to the substrate by many rhizines. There are typically lots of fruiting bodies – the apothecia – which are flat, disc-shaped, and red-brown with thin margins.

Habitat and distribution

''Melanohalea subolivacea'' is a largely North American species that usually grows on bark, although on rare instances it has been recorded growing on wood. It is common on

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

trees, particularly in dry forests.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10580441 subolivacea Lichen species Lichens described in 1897 Lichens of North America