Biology:Melaspilea

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Melaspilea is a genus of fungi in the family Melaspileaceae.[1] The genus includes both lichen-forming species that grow on tree bark and lichenicolous species that parasitise other lichens. Originally, Melaspilea encompassed a broad and diverse group of species, but a 2015 molecular study narrowed its circumscription, showing that many species historically placed in the genus actually belonged to unrelated lineages. In its current sense, Melaspilea belongs to the family Melaspileaceae and order Eremithallales within Dothideomycetes and is characterised by dark fruiting bodies with single-septum spores. The genus has a worldwide distribution but is particularly diverse in tropical regions, with species primarily found growing on the bark of trees and woody plants.

Taxonomy

The genus was established by the Finnish lichenologist William Nylander in 1857. In his original description, Nylander characterized Melaspilea as having a thin or inconspicuous thallus and a black apothecium with a superficial or simple [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] that is often convex. The genus was distinguished by its discrete paraphyses, ovoid to somewhat uncoloured single septum spores measuring 8 micrometres, and lack of a hymenial gelatin. The type species, M. arthonioides, was described from specimens collected on ash trees (Fraxinus) near Philippeville, Algeria. Nylander noted that while the species was rare in France, particularly on elm trees, it was not truly found there in a well-developed state. He also described a second species, M. deformis, characterized by its reduced thallus, small or medium-sized rounded or deformed apothecium, and occurrence on oak, walnut, and ash trees in Switzerland.[2]

For much of its history, names placed in Melaspilea formed a heterogeneous assemblage with uncertain rank and placement; different authors treated parts of the group in Arthoniomycetes, Graphidales, Patellariaceae and Buelliaceae, or as lichenicolous outliers, reflecting the lack of a stable circumscription.[3]

A multi-locus phylogenetic study in 2015 dismantled the broad, traditional concept of the genus and family. It showed that Melaspilea (in the broad sense) is polyphyletic: Melaspilea in the strict sense belongs in the order Eremithallales within Dothideomycetes, together with the rock-dwelling genus Encephalographa; Eremithallaceae is treated as a synonym of Melaspileaceae. In the same work, the authors subsumed Eremithallus into Melaspilea and made the new combinations Melaspilea costaricensis, Melaspilea enteroleuca and Melaspilea urceolata. Many other species historically assigned to Melaspilea were shown to belong in Asterinales and are best treated in segregate genera such as Melaspileella, Melaspileopsis and Stictographa. The revised framework reflects that superficially similar dark, 1-septate ascomata have evolved repeatedly in unrelated lineages, and that lichenised and lichenicolous lifestyles are intermingled within Asterinales.[3]

Description

Melaspilea (in the strict sense) forms a thin, whitish, bark-inhabiting (corticolous) thallus with a [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] green-algal partner (Trentepohlia). The ascomata are usually rounded to short-[[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]], immersed at first, then [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] and finally superficial, with a flat to slightly convex disc bordered by a low, sometimes lobulate margin. The [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] is dark reddish-brown and turns olive-brown with potassium hydroxide solution (K+ olivaceous). The hymenium is non-amyloid (does not turn blue with iodine).[3]

Asci are elongate [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] to somewhat cylindrical with a thickened apex and a distinct [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]], each typically containing eight 1-septate ascospores. The spores are ellipsoid, smooth, hyaline when young and brown at maturity, and commonly constricted at the septum. In some material a gelatinous sheath becomes blue after KOH pretreatment followed by iodine (K/I-positive), but the taxonomic weight of this sheath is uncertain. Filamentous paraphyses are [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] to branched and not markedly swollen at the tips. Reports of [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] cell clusters within bark [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] cells connected to the apothecia by hyaline hyphae pertain to Central American material formerly segregated as Eremithallus and are not considered diagnostic for the genus as currently circumscribed.[3]

Habitat, distribution, and ecology

Species of Melaspilea are primarily corticolous, meaning they grow on the bark of trees and woody plants. The genus has a worldwide distribution but appears more diverse in tropical regions, though it is also well-represented in temperate areas. For example, eleven species have been accepted in the lichen flora of Great Britain and Ireland.[3] M. enteroleuca is consistently corticolous on old trees and has records across much of Europe, with reports in North Africa and Asia; by contrast, M. urceolata is American. M. costaricensis (the former Eremithallus) is confirmed from Costa Rica and Saba.[3]

Species

Melaspilea lentiginosa

As of October 2025, Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) accept 59 species of Melaspilea.[4] Many names historically placed in Melaspilea have been shown to belong in Asterinales (e.g., Melaspileella, Melaspileopsis, Stictographa, Karschia) rather than Melaspilea in the strict sense.[3]

  • Melaspilea amarkantakensis S.Joseph & G.P.Sinha (2015)[5]
  • Melaspilea amota Nyl. (1867)[6]
  • Melaspilea arthonioides (A.Massal.) Nyl. (1857)
  • Melaspilea atacamensis C.W.Dodge (1967)[7]
  • Melaspilea atroides Coppins (1992)[8] – Europe
  • Melaspilea bagliettoana Zahlbr. (1904)[9]
  • Melaspilea chilena C.W.Dodge (1969)[10] – South America
  • Melaspilea congregans Müll.Arg. (1891)[11]
  • Melaspilea congregantula Müll.Arg. (1895)[12]
  • Melaspilea constrictella (Stirt.) A.L.Sm. (1911)
  • Melaspilea coquimbensis C.W.Dodge (1967)[7]
  • Melaspilea costaricensis (Lücking, Lizano & Chaves)[13] Ertz & Diederich (2015)
  • Melaspilea diplasiospora (Nyl.) Müll.Arg. (1887)
  • Melaspilea enteroleuca (Ach.) Ertz & Diederich (2015)
  • Melaspilea galligena Zhurb. & Zhdanov (2013)[14] – Russia
  • Melaspilea gemella (Eschw.) Nyl. (1867)
  • Melaspilea granitophila (Th.Fr.) Coppins (1989)[15]
  • Melaspilea hyparctica K.Holm & L.Holm (1993)[16]
  • Melaspilea interjecta (Leight.) A.L.Sm. (1911)
  • Melaspilea lecideopsoidea (Rehm) K.Holm & L.Holm (1986)[17]
  • Melaspilea leciographoides Vouaux (1913)[18]
  • Melaspilea lekae Brackel & Kalb (2012)[19]
  • Melaspilea lentiginosa (Lyell ex Leight.) Müll.Arg. (1887)
  • Melaspilea lentiginosula (Nyl.) A.L.Sm. (1911)
  • Melaspilea leucina (Müll.Arg.) Müll.Arg. (1887)
  • Melaspilea mangrovei Vrijmoed, K.D.Hyde & E.B.G.Jones (1996)[20]
  • Melaspilea microcarpa (Müll.Arg.) Müll.Arg. (1887)
  • Melaspilea ochrothalamia Nyl. (1865)[21]
  • Melaspilea opegraphoides Nyl. (1863)[22]
  • Melaspilea santiagensis C.W.Dodge (1969)[10] – South America
  • Melaspilea saxicola C.W.Dodge (1969)[10] – South America
  • Melaspilea stellaris Müll.Arg. (1895)[12]
  • Melaspilea sudzuhensis Makar. (1976)
  • Melaspilea tucumana Flakus, Etayo & Kukwa (2014)[23] – Bolivia
  • Melaspilea urceolata (Fr.) Ertz & Diederich (2015)
  • Melaspilea zerovii Makar. & Knyazheva (1974)[24]

References

  1. ↑ Hyde, K.D.; Noorabadi, M.T.; Thiyagaraja, V.; He, M.Q.; Johnston, P.R.; Wijesinghe, S.N. et al. (2024). "The 2024 Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa". Mycosphere 15 (1): 5146–6239 [5220]. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/15/1/25. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385939154. 
  2. ↑ Nylander, W. (1857). "Prodromus lichenographiae Galliae et Algeriae" (in la). Actes de la Société Linnéenne de Bordeaux 21 (4): 249–467 [416]. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3356096. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Ertz, Damien; Diederich, Paul (2015). "Dismantling Melaspileaceae: a first phylogenetic study of Buelliella, Hemigrapha, Karschia, Labrocarpon and Melaspilea". Fungal Diversity 71 (1): 141–164. doi:10.1007/s13225-015-0321-1. 
  4. ↑ "Melaspilea". Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/5NMG. 
  5. ↑ Joseph, S.; Sinha, G.P. (2015). "The lichenicolous species of Melaspilea (Melaspileaceae) in India". Taiwania 60 (1): 18–22. doi:10.6165/tai.2015.60.18. 
  6. ↑ Nylander, W. (1867). "Addenda nova ad lichenographiam Europaeam. Cont. IV" (in la). Flora (Regensburg) 50: 177–180. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57566. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Dodge, C.W. (1967). "New lichens from Chile". Nova Hedwigia 12: 307–352. 
  8. ↑ Coppins, B.J.; James, P.W.; Hawksworth, D.L. (1992). "New species and combinations in the lichen flora of Great Britain and Ireland". The Lichenologist 24 (4): 351–369. doi:10.1017/S0024282992000471. 
  9. ↑ Zahlbruckner, A. (1904). "Schedae ad "Kryptogamas exsiccatas" editae a Museo Palatino Vindobonensi. Centuria X–XI" (in de). Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums Wien 19: 379–427. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Dodge, C.W. (1968). "New lichens from Chile – II". Nova Hedwigia 16: 481–494. 
  11. ↑ Müller, J. (1891). "Lichenes Brisbanenses a cl. F.M. Bailey, Government Botanist, prope Brisbane (Queensland) in Australia orientali lecti". Nuovo Giornale Botanico Italiano 23 (3): 385–404. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Müller, J. (1895). "Sertum Australiense s. species novae Australienses Thelotremearum, Graphidearum et Pyrenocarpearum" (in la). Bulletin de l'Herbier Boissier 3: 313–327. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33964173. 
  13. ↑ Lücking, Robert; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten; Di Stéfano, José F.; Lizano, Daniela; Carranza, Julieta; Bernecker, Andrea; Chaves, José Luis; Umafia, Loengrin (2008). "Eremithallus costaricensis (Ascomycota: Lichinomycetes: Eremothallales), a new fungal lineage with a novel lichen symbiotic lifestyle discovered in an urban relict forest in Costa Rica". Symbiosis 46 (3): 161–170. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287602956. 
  14. ↑ Zhurbenko, M.P.; Zhdanov, I.S. (2013). "Melaspilea galligena sp. nov. and some other lichenicolous fungi from Russia". Folia Cryptogamica Estonica 50: 89–99. doi:10.12697/fce.2013.50.12. 
  15. ↑ Coppins, B.J. (1989). "Notes on the Arthoniaceae in the British Isles". The Lichenologist 21 (3): 195–216. doi:10.1017/S0024282989000435. 
  16. ↑ Holm, K.; Holm, L. (1993). "Dryadicolous Ascomycetes from Svalbard". Bibliotheca Mycologica 150: 53–62. 
  17. ↑ Holm, K.; Holm, L. (1986). "Kleinpilze auf Dryas-Stämmchen" (in de). Sydowia 38: 136–145. 
  18. ↑ Vouaux, L. (1913). "Synopsis des champignons parasites de lichens" (in fr). Bulletin de la Société Mycologique de France 29: 447–494. 
  19. ↑ Kalb, K.; Buaruang, K.; Mongkolsuk, P.; Boonpragob, K. (2012). "New or otherwise interesting lichens. VI, including a lichenicolous fungus". Phytotaxa 42: 35–47. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.42.1.5. 
  20. ↑ Vrijmoed, L.L.P.; Hyde, K.D.; Jones, E.B.G. (1996). "Melaspilea mangrovei sp. nov., from Australian and Hong Kong mangroves". Mycological Research 100: 291–294. doi:10.1016/S0953-7562(96)80156-0. 
  21. ↑ Nylander, W. (1865). "Adhuc novitiae quaedam Lichenum Europae variarum tribuum" (in la). Flora (Regensburg) 48: 353–358. 
  22. ↑ Nylander, W. (1863). "Lichenographia Novogranatensis prodromus" (in la). Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae 7 (2): 415–504. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13599160. 
  23. ↑ Flakus, Adam; Etayo, Javier; Kukwa, Martin (2014). "Melaspilea tucumana, a new gall-forming lichenicolous fungus from the tropical Andes in Bolivia". The Lichenologist 46 (5): 657–662. doi:10.1017/S0024282914000188. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271272576. 
  24. ↑ (in ru) Определитель лишайников СССР. 4. Leningrad: Nauka. 1977. p. 228. 
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Wikidata ☰ Q10580981 entry



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