Biology:Psorotichia

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Psorotichia is a genus of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) lichens in the family Lichinaceae.[1] The genus can be distinguished from other rock-dwelling lichens by its distinctive dark colouration and granular texture. Unlike many lichens that form leafy or branched structures, Psorotichia species create only thin, crusty patches that blend closely with the rock surface. Their small fruiting bodies are often difficult to spot without magnification, appearing as tiny dark dots embedded in the crust.

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed by the Italian lichenologist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1855, with Psorotichia murorum assigned as the type species.[2] The genus has long been placed in the class Lichinomycetes and traditionally assigned to the family Lichinaceae. A multilocus phylogenetic study of the Lichinomycetes found that several long-standing family and genus circumscriptions in the class did not match evolutionary relationships inferred from DNA data. Using a combination of morphological criteria (especially ascoma development and ascus type) together with the phylogeny, the authors proposed a revised higher-level classification of the class, recognising four families (three emended and one newly described) and providing an updated overview of the accepted genera. In this framework Psorotichia is retained within an emended Lichinaceae as a distinct genus consistent with the molecular results. Subsequent historical work has also clarified some names previously placed in Psorotichia, showing that a few "Psorotichia" taxa belong in other cyanolichen genera, which reduced confusion around the genus' limits established since Massalongo's time.[3]

Description

Psorotichia forms a thin, dark green to almost black crust that adheres closely to lime-rich rock. At first glance the surface looks like a scatter of minute [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] or tiny, partially overlapping flakes, but when damp it swells slightly and acquires a jelly-like consistency; this texture reflects the absence of a protective [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] and the presence of closely packed, brick-like fungal cells throughout the thallus. Light-harvesting partners are single-celled cyanobacteria of the genus Chroococcidiopsis: each cell, or small cluster of cells, is wrapped in a slim gelatinous coat that often becomes yellow-brown near the surface, giving the thallus a faint bronze sheen in section.[4]

Sexual fruit bodies (apothecia) sit more or less flush with the thallus surface. They begin as tiny, urn-shaped cavities but may mature into shallow to slightly domed [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]. A rim of thallus tissue surrounds the disc, merging in colour with the surrounding crust, while an internal fungal wall ([[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]) remains paler and better developed around the sides than at the base. The interior spore layer is colourless and stains blue with iodine, and it rests on a wedge-shaped basal tissue known as the [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]. Between the spore sacs (asci) run slender filaments called paraphyses; these branch sparingly towards their tips, and one or more terminal cells become distinctly swollen. Each ascus has a thin wall, lacks the amyloid caps common in many lichens, and contains four to eight colourless, single-celled ascospores. Asexual spores are produced in submerged flask-shaped bodies (pycnidia) that appear as minute warts; they are rod-shaped and likewise colourless. Chemical spot tests and thin-layer chromatography have not revealed any secondary lichen substances, so identification relies on morphology and the association with Chroococcidiopsis.[4]

Species

As of October 2025, Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) accepts 27 species of Psorotichia.

  • Psorotichia allobrogensis Hue (1896)
  • Psorotichia americana Vain. (1896)[5]
  • Psorotichia arenaticola Eggerth (1889)
  • Psorotichia argentinica Müll.Arg. (1889)
  • Psorotichia asiatica Vain. (1888)[6]
  • Psorotichia aspicilioides Vain. (1915)[7]
  • Psorotichia boergesenii Vain. (1915)[7]
  • Psorotichia calcigena Zahlbr. (1930)[8]
  • Psorotichia cataractae Zahlbr. (1926)
  • Psorotichia claudelii Hue (1896)
  • Psorotichia claudelii Hue (1896)
  • Psorotichia diaphorotheca Harm. (1910)
  • Psorotichia diffundens (Nyl.) Arnold (1869)[9]
  • Psorotichia dispersa H. Magn. (1944)
  • Psorotichia ecrustacea Harm. (1905)
  • Psorotichia gorgonina Vain. (1901)
  • Psorotichia granulosa Flagey ex Harm. (1905)
  • Psorotichia gyelnikii S.Y.Kondr., Lőkös & Hur (2016)[10]
  • Psorotichia hassei Fink ex J.Hedrick (1933)
  • Psorotichia henriquesii Samp. (1918)[11]
  • Psorotichia heterocarpa G.Merr. (1930)[12]
  • Psorotichia heterothallina Vain. (1921)[13]
  • Psorotichia incavata H.Magn. (1945)[14]
  • Psorotichia kansuensis H.Magn. (1940)
  • Psorotichia macrospora Samp. (1924)[15]
  • Psorotichia minuta H.Magn. (1940)
  • Psorotichia mongolica H.Magn. (1940)
  • Psorotichia moravica Zahlbr. (1928)
  • Psorotichia murorum A.Massal. (1855)
  • Psorotichia nigra H.Magn. (1940)
  • Psorotichia polyspora M.Schultz & Büdel (2000)[16]
  • Psorotichia pontresinae B.de Lesd. (1910)
  • Psorotichia pyrenopsoides (Nyl.) Forssell (1885)[17]
  • Psorotichia recondita Arnold (1885)
  • Psorotichia rimosa Henssen (1990)
  • Psorotichia rufescens Hy (1893)
  • Psorotichia sinaiensis Vain. (1926)
  • Psorotichia sinensis Zahlbr. (1930)
  • Psorotichia tongletii B.de Lesd. (1909)[18]
  • Psorotichia yoshimurae H.Harada (2023)[19] – Japan

The taxon Psorotichia schaereri (A.Massal.) Arnold (1869) was found to be not related to the type species of Psorotichia, and was transferred to Collemopsis, a genus resurrected from synonymy with Psorotichia.

Psorotichia segregata was determined to be the same species as Lempholemma chalazanum.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Wijayawardene, N.N.; Hyde, K.D.; Dai, D.Q.; Sánchez-García, M.; Goto, B.T.; Saxena, R.K. et al. (2022). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa – 2021". Mycosphere 13 (1): 53–453. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/13/1/2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358798332. 
  2. ↑ Massalongo, Aramo Bartolomea (1855) (in la). Frammenti lichenografici. Verona: Typis Antonellianis. p. 15. 
  3. ↑ Prieto, M.; Wedin, M.; Schultz, M. (2024). "Phylogeny, evolution and a re-classification of the Lichinomycetes". Studies in Mycology 109: 595–655. doi:10.3114/sim.2024.109.09. PMID 39717657. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cannon, P.; Coppins, B.; Sanderson, N.; Simkin, J. (2023). Lichinales: Lichinaceae and Peltulaceae, including the genera Cryptothele, Ephebe, Euopsis, Lemmopsis, Lempholemma, Lichina, Metamelanea, Peltula, Phylliscum, Porocyphus, Psorotichia, Pterygiopsis, Pyrenocarpon, Pyrenopsis, Synalissa, Thermutis and Watsoniomyces. Revisions of British and Irish Lichens. 44. pp. 4–5. https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Lichinales.pdf. open access
  5. ↑ Vainio, E.A. (1896). "Lichenes Antillarum a W.R. Elliott collecti" (in la). The Journal of Botany, British and Foreign 34: 66–72. 
  6. ↑ Vainio, E.A. (1888). "Lichenes in Plantae turcomanicae a G. Radde et A. Walter collectae" (in la). Acta Horti Petropolitani 10 (2): 551–562. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Vainio, E.A. (1915). "Additamenta ad lichenographiam Antillarum illustrandum" (in la). Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae. A 6 (7): 117. 
  8. ↑ Zahlbruckner, A. (1930). "New species of lichens from Porto Rico. III". Mycologia 22: 69–79. 
  9. ↑ Arnold, F. (1869). "Lichenologische Fragmente V. Zwei Tage in Wessen" (in de). Flora 52: 257–269. 
  10. ↑ Kondratyuk, S.Y.; Lőkös, L.; Halda, J.P.; Upreti, D.K.; Mishra, G.K.; Haji Moniri, M.; Farkas, E.; Park, J.S. et al. (2016). "New and noteworthy lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi 5". Acta Botanica Hungarica 58 (3–4): 319–396. doi:10.1556/abot.58.2016.3-4.7. http://real.mtak.hu/40025/1/abot.58.2016.3-4.7.pdf. 
  11. ↑ Sampaio, G. (1918). "Psorotichia henriquesi (sp. n.).". O Instituto, Revista Scientifica e Literaria 63 (5): 245–246. 
  12. ↑ Hedrick, J. (1930). "New species of lichens from Porto Rico – IV". Mycologia 22 (6): 247–255. 
  13. ↑ Vainio, E.A. (1921). "Lichenes novi in Fennia a V. Räsänen collecti" (in la). Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica 47: 50–51. 
  14. ↑ Magnusson, A.H. (1945). "New or interesting Swedish lichens. XII". Botaniska Notiser 1945: 304–314. 
  15. ↑ Sampaio, G. (1924). "Novos Materiais para a Liquenologia Portuguesa" (in pt). Boletim da Sociedade Broteriana. 2 2: 161–179. 
  16. ↑ Schultz, M.; Porembski, S.; Büdel, B. (2000). "Diversity of rock-inhabiting cyanobacterial lichens: studies on granite inselbergs along the Orinoca and the Guyana region". Plant Biology 2: 482–495. doi:10.1055/s-2000-5951. 
  17. ↑ Forssell, K.B.J. (1885) (in de). Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Anatomie und Systematik der Gloeolichenen. p. 77. 
  18. ↑ Bouly de Lesdain, M. (1909). "Notes lichénologiques. IX" (in fr). Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France 56: 170–175. 
  19. ↑ Harada, H. (2023). "Psorotichia yoshimurae sp. nov., a new freshwater species of crustose cyanolichen in the Lichinaceae from Shimanto River, Shikoku, Japan". Lichenology 22 (1–2): 1–7. 
  20. ↑ Schultz, Matthias (2007). "On the identity of Anema dodgei, Psorotichia segregata and Psorotichia squamulosa, three misunderstood cyanolichens from the southwestern United States". The Bryologist 110 (2): 286–294. doi:10.1639/0007-2745(2007)110[286:OTIOAD2.0.CO;2]. 
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Wikidata ☰ Q7256144 entry



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