Fulvophyton
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| Fulvophyton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fulvophyton serusiauxii; scale bar = 5 mm | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Arthoniomycetes |
| Order: | Arthoniales |
| Family: | Roccellographaceae |
| Genus: | Fulvophyton Ertz & Tehler (2011) |
| Type species | |
| Fulvophyton stalactinum (Nyl.) Ertz & Tehler (2011) | |
Fulvophyton is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Roccellographaceae. It has 11 species.[1][2] Fulvophyton is characterised by its crust-like thallus, which is often pale yellowish-brown in colour. This genus features a photobiont from the green algal genus Trentepohlia and exhibits a unique arrangement of reproductive structures.
The genus was circumscribed in 2011 by lichenologists Damien Ertz and Anders Tehler, as part of a molecular phylogenetic-based restructuring of the order Arthoniales. The genus encompasses species that were previously classified in the genus Sclerophyton, as proposed by Laurens Sparrius in 2004.[3] However, these species deviate from the type of that genus due to the presence of rounded to ellipsoid ascomata, which are often covered in white pruina, and a hyaline or pale hypothecium. The type species of Fulvophyton is F. stalactinum, a lichen first described by William Nylander in 1855 (as Chiodecton stalactinum).[4]