''Phyllopsora'' 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 Ramalinaceae. The characteristics of a fossilized ''Phyllopsora'', '' P. dominicana'', found in

Dominican amber Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree '' Hymenaea protera''. Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent, and it has a higher number of fossil in ...

, suggests that the main distinguishing features of the genus have remained unchanged for tens of millions of years.

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed by the Swiss botanist

Johannes Müller Argoviensis Johann Müller (9 May 1828 – 28 January 1896) was a Swiss botanist who was a specialist in lichens. He published under the name Johannes Müller Argoviensis to distinguish himself from other naturalists with similar names. Biography Müller ...

in 1894, with '' Phyllopsora breviuscula'' assigned 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 ...

. In 2019, a proposal was made to conserve the name ''Phyllopsora'' against the earlier names ''Triclinum'' and ''Crocynia''. This was due to ''Phyllopsora'' including species that are the types of these earlier generic names, which would have priority. The proposal argued that conserving ''Phyllopsora'' would be the least disruptive option, as taking up ''Triclinum'' would require 56

new combination In Taxonomy (biology), biological taxonomy, a combinatio nova (abbreviated comb. nov. or n. comb.) refers to the formal renaming of an organism's scientific name when it is transferred to a different genus, reclassified within a different specie ...

s, while ''Crocynia'' included many species now considered to belong to other genera. In 2024, the

Nomenclature Committee for Fungi International Botanical Congress (IBC) is an international meeting of botanists in all scientific fields, authorized by the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS) and held every six years, with the location rotati ...

recommended conservation of ''Phyllopsora'' against ''Triclinum'' and ''Crocynia'', with 80% of the committee voting in favour.

Description

The genus ''Phyllopsora'' is distinguished by its scale-like () to almost leaf-like (

foliose A foliose lichen is a lichen with flat, leaf-like , which are generally not firmly bonded to the substrate on which it grows. It is one of the three most common lichen growth forms, growth forms of lichens. It typically has distinct upper and lo ...

) body (

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 often has a distinct border (

prothallus A prothallus, or prothallium, (from Latin ''pro'' = forwards and Greek ''θαλλος'' (''thallos'') = twig) is usually the gametophyte stage in the life of a fern or other pteridophyte. Occasionally the term is also used to describe the young ...

). Its reproductive structures, known as asci, have a unique feature: 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 ...

dome and a narrow, cone-shaped central structure. The

fruiting bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...

(

apothecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. As ...

) of this genus are made up of highly gelatinized (jelly-like) fungal threads. These threads show no clear separation between the different structural layers of the apothecium, and this gelatinised texture is consistent throughout the central and marginal areas of the apothecium as well as in the supporting structures (). The produced by ''Phyllopsora'' are small, with thin walls, and are typically not divided into separate compartments (rarely

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

Species

Phyllopsora isidiolyta - Flickr - pellaea

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 48 species of ''Phyllopsora'': *'' Phyllopsora amazonica'' *'' Phyllopsora atrocarpa'' – Peru *'' Phyllopsora buettneri'' *'' Phyllopsora borbonica'' *'' Phyllopsora breviuscula'' *'' Phyllopsora castaneocincta'' *'' Phyllopsora catervisorediata'' – India *'' Phyllopsora chodatinica'' – Australia *'' Phyllopsora cinchonarum'' *'' Phyllopsora cognata'' *'' Phyllopsora concinna'' *'' Phyllopsora conwayensis'' – Australia *'' Phyllopsora corallina'' *'' Phyllopsora dodongensis'' – South Korea *'' Phyllopsora dolichospora'' *'' Phyllopsora dominicana'' *'' Phyllopsora foliata'' *'' Phyllopsora foliatella'' – Australia *''

Phyllopsora furfuracea ''Phyllopsora'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. The characteristics of a fossilized ''Phyllopsora'', ''Phyllopsora dominicana, P. dominicana'', found in Dominican amber, suggests that the main distinguishing ...

'' *'' Phyllopsora furfurella'' *'' Phyllopsora glaucella'' *'' Phyllopsora glaucescens'' – Peru *''

Phyllopsora gossypina ''Phyllopsora'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. The characteristics of a fossilized ''Phyllopsora'', ''Phyllopsora dominicana, P. dominicana'', found in Dominican amber, suggests that the main distinguishing ...

'' *'' Phyllopsora himalayensis'' – India *'' Phyllopsora hispaniolae'' *'' Phyllopsora homosekikaica'' – Australia *'' Phyllopsora imshaugii'' *'' Phyllopsora isidiosa'' *'' Phyllopsora lividocarpa'' – Peru *'' Phyllopsora loekoesii'' *'' Phyllopsora magna'' *'' Phyllopsora methoxymicareica'' – Australia *'' Phyllopsora nemoralis'' *'' Phyllopsora neofoliata'' – Australia *'' Phyllopsora neotinica'' *'' Phyllopsora nigrocincta'' – Peru *'' Phyllopsora parvifolia'' *'' Phyllopsora phaeobyssina'' *'' Phyllopsora pocsii'' *'' Phyllopsora pseudocorallina'' – Asia; Africa *'' Phyllopsora pyxinoides'' *'' Phyllopsora rappiana'' – Australia *'' Phyllopsora rosei'' – Europe *'' Phyllopsora sabahana'' – Malaysia *'' Phyllopsora siamensis'' – Thailand *'' Phyllopsora soralifera'' – Peru *'' Phyllopsora subhyalina'' *'' Phyllopsora swinscowii'' *'' Phyllopsora teretiuscula'' *'' Phyllopsora tobagensis''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7189356 Ramalinaceae Lichen genera Lecanorales genera Taxa described in 1894 Taxa named by Johannes Müller Argoviensis