The Pertusariaceae are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 order

Pertusariales The Pertusariales are an order (biology), order of fungi in the class Lecanoromycetes, comprising 8 family (biology), families, 31 genera, and over 600 species, many of which form lichens. This diverse group is characterized by complex taxonomy ...

Taxonomy

The family was formally circumscribed by German lichenologist Gustav Wilhelm Körber in 1846. It contained the genera ''Pertusaria'' and ''

Ochrolechia ''Ochrolechia'' is the sole genus in the fungus, fungal family Ochrolechiaceae. It comprises about 40 species of crustose lichens. These lichens typically form uneven, often thick, crust-like growths on various surfaces and are characterised by t ...

'' until ''Pertusaria'' was shown to be

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

in a 2006 publication. The family

Ochrolechiaceae ''Ochrolechia'' is the sole genus in the fungal family Ochrolechiaceae. It comprises about 40 species of crustose lichens. These lichens typically form uneven, often thick, crust-like growths on various surfaces and are characterised by their whi ...

was created to contain ''Ochrolechia''. In 2012, a proposal by Alexander Doweld sought to conserve the family name Pertusariaceae against Variolariaceae, citing the illegitimacy of Variolariaceae due to its association with the invalid generic name ''Variolaria'' Despite this, the proposal was deemed unnecessary by a vote as the taxonomy of the family, which includes genera like ''Pertusaria'' and ''Variolaria'', remains unsettled, and Variolariaceae was found to be an illegitimate name. Consequently, Pertusariaceae remains the valid and preferred family name.

Genera

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 ...

includes 6 genera and 379 species in the Pertusariaceae. *'' Lepra'' – 81 spp. *'' Loxosporopsis'' – 1 sp. *''

Pertusaria ''Pertusaria'' is a large genus of warty crustose lichen, crustose lichens in the Pertusariaceae family.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, The fruiting bodies are usually modified apothecia that im ...

'' – ca. 300 spp. *'' Phyllophiale'' – 1 sp. *'' Thamnochrolechia'' – 1 sp. *'' Verseghya'' – 2 spp.

References

Pertusariales Lichen families Lecanoromycetes families Taxa named by Gustav Wilhelm Körber Taxa described in 1855 {{Pertusariales-stub