Gyalectidium conchiferum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gyalectidium conchiferum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Graphidales |
| Family: | Gomphillaceae |
| Genus: | Gyalectidium |
| Species: | G. conchiferum |
| Binomial name | |
| Gyalectidium conchiferum Lücking & V.Wirth (2001) | |
Gyalectidium conchiferum is a leaf-dwelling (foliicolous) species of lichen-forming fungus in the family Gomphillaceae.[1] It is known from the Valdivian temperate rainforest of southern Chile, where it forms small greenish-gray patches on living leaves. The species is characterized by its distinctive mussel-shaped reproductive structures that stand upright at the thallus margin, which distinguish it from similar smooth-thallusеd species in the genus.
Gyalectidium conchiferum was described as a new species in 2001 by Robert Lücking and Volkmar Wirth, based on material collected in southern Chile. The type was collected from Volcan El Mocho near Choshuenco, about 100 km (62 mi) east of Valdivia at an elevation of 600–630 m (1,970–2,070 ft). In the original account it was compared with Gyalectidium catenulatum, which has a similar smooth thallus, but differs in the shape and placement of the hyphophores (specialized, often stalked structures that produce asexual fungal filaments).[2]