Protopannaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Protopannaria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Protopannaria pezizoides | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Peltigerales |
| Family: | Pannariaceae |
| Genus: | Protopannaria (Gyeln.) P.M.Jørg. & S.Ekman (2000) |
| Type species | |
| Protopannaria pezizoides | |
| Species | |
|
P. alcicornis | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Protopannaria is a genus of seven species of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pannariaceae.[1] The genus was elevated from a subgenus of Pannaria to full genus status in 2000. Protopannaria lichens typically grow as small, overlapping patches on mossy tree trunks and branches in humid, old-growth forests. The genus is primarily distributed in subantarctic and temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere.
The genus was originally circumscribed as a subgenus of the genus Pannaria by the Hungarian lichenologist Vilmos Kőfaragó-Gyelnik. Per Magnus Jørgensen and Stefan Ekman promoted Protopannaria to full status as a genus in 2000.[2]
Description
Protopannaria species form a small, often overlapping mosaic of scales that ranges from crust-like patches to more distinct squamules. These units are usually anchored by a blue to blue-black fibrous layer (hypothallus) that can be visible at the margins. The upper surface varies from greyish blue to deep brown-black and lacks a differentiated cortex. The fungal hyphae weave among the cells of a blue-green cyanobacterial partner (Nostoc), creating a loose to pseudoparenchymatous texture beneath the surface.[3]
The sessile fruiting bodies (apothecia) bear red-brown to nearly black discs and retain a persistent rim of thallus tissue (a thalline margin). This margin is two-layered: its outer zone consists of tightly packed pseudoparenchymatous cells, while the inner zone is looser and densely infused with photobiont cells. A pale, thin true exciple surrounds the hymenium. When treated with iodine, the hymenium stains blackish blue (I+). Each asci produces eight ascospores and belongs to the Pannaria structural type, lacking any amyloid apical apparatus. The spores are colourless, single-celled and ellipsoidal, often ending in one or two pointed tips and carrying a finely warted outer layer. Asexual reproduction occurs in immersed pycnidia that release straight, rod-shaped conidia. No secondary metabolites (lichen substances) have been detected in the genus by thin-layer chromatography.[3]
