''Solenopsora'' 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

Catillariaceae The Catillariaceae are a family of crustose lichens in the order Lecanorales. Species of this family have a widespread distribution, especially in temperate areas. The family was originally circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner ...

. It has 15 species, with a mostly Northern Hemisphere distribution.

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 ...

by Italian lichenologist

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 1855, with '' Solenopsora requienii'' 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 ...

. However, this species had previously been described in 1840 by

Camille Montagne Jean Pierre François Camille Montagne (15 February 1784 – 5 December 1866) was a French people, French military physician and botanist who specialized in the fields of bryology and mycology. Life Montague was born in the commune of Vaudoy i ...

, as ''Parmelia holophaea''.

Description

''Solenopsora'' lichens produce

thalli 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 various morphologies, including crust-like (crustose), scaley (squamulose), and

leafy LEAFY (abbreviated LFY) is a plant gene that causes groups of undifferentiated cells called meristems to develop into flowers instead of leaves with associated shoots. ''LEAFY'' is involved in floral meristem identity. ''LEAFY'' encodes a pla ...

(foliose). Depending on the species, the

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 ...

may be immersed on the substrate, emergent on the substrate surface, or somewhat elevated on a stalk (''stipitate''). A combination of microscopic characteristics define the genus ''Solenopsora''. They all have asci that contain eight spores, and are of the ''Catillaria''-type. This means that they have a prominent,

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 (the thickened inner part of the tip of an ascus) that lacks any internal differentiation such as an axial body. They have simple (i.e. unbranched)

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 ...

with an internal brown

pigmentation A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly insoluble and chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored substances which are soluble or go in ...

and club-shaped tips. Their

ascospore In fungi, an ascospore is the sexual spore formed inside an ascus—the sac-like cell that defines the division Ascomycota, the largest and most diverse Division (botany), division of fungi. After two parental cell nucleus, nuclei fuse, the ascu ...

s are colourless and translucent (

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from , and . Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is named after its glassy appearance on fresh gross pathology. On light microscopy of H&E stained slides, the extracellula ...

), and contain a single

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 ...

. ''

Catillaria ''Catillaria'' is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Catillariaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Italian lichenologist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1852. It is the type genus of Catillariaceae, which was circumscribed by Austrian ...

'' is a closely related genus that differs mainly in having a thallus that is always crustose, and apothecia with a proper margin.

Habitat and distribution

Most ''Solenopsora'' species are found in the Northern Hemisphere, including Asia, Europe, western North Africa, North America, and the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. Three species are known from Australia. Eight species occur in Europe.

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 ...

accepts 15 species of ''Solenopsora'': *'' Solenopsora candicans'' *'' Solenopsora cesatii'' *'' Solenopsora chihuahuana'' *'' Solenopsora cladonioides'' *'' Solenopsora cyathiformis'' *'' Solenopsora elixiana'' –

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

;

La Réunion LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

; Taiwan *'' Solenopsora grisea'' *'' Solenopsora holophaea'' *'' Solenopsora isidiata'' *'' Solenopsora liparina'' *'' Solenopsora olivacea'' *'' Solenopsora requienii'' *'' Solenopsora sordida'' – New Zealand *'' Solenopsora tasmanica'' –

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

*'' Solenopsora vulturiensis'' – Western Australia; Europe; Macaronesia

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10673162 Lecanorales Lecanorales genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 1855 Taxa named by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo