Pyrrhospora
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pyrrhospora | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pyrrhospora quernea | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Lecanoraceae |
| Genus: | Pyrrhospora Körb. (1855) |
| Type species | |
| Pyrrhospora quernea (Dicks.) Körb. (1855) | |
Pyrrhospora is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Lecanoraceae.[1] The genus was established in 1855 by the German lichenologist Gustav Wilhelm Körber, who named it after the distinctive reddish-brown colour of the spores, combining Greek words meaning 'reddish-brown' and 'spore'. These lichens form thin crusty films on rocks and tree bark, producing button-shaped fruiting bodies that start reddish-brown and turn almost black with age. The genus contains eight species and is distinguished by its unique spore colouration and chemical compounds including anthraquinone pigments that give the characteristic reddish tinge.
The genus was circumscribed by German lichenologist Gustav Wilhelm Körber in 1855, with Pyrrhospora quernea assigned as the type species. In his protologue, Körber described Pyrrhospora as having distinctive reddish-brown coloured spores (monoblastic spores), a feature that he noted was unusual among lichens and which distinguished it from the related genus Biatora. The generic name derives from the Greek πυρρός (pyrrhos, meaning 'reddish-brown') and σπορά (spora, meaning 'spore'), directly referencing the characteristic spore colouration that defines the genus. Körber noted that this lichen formed a uniform crustose thallus with a barely distinct prothallus, and emphasised that the reddish-brown spores were the primary distinguishing character that necessitated establishing a separate genus rather than placing these species within existing genera.[2]
