Ramalina ovalis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ramalina ovalis | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Ramalinaceae |
| Genus: | Ramalina |
| Species: | R. ovalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Ramalina ovalis | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Synonymy | |
Ramalina ovalis is a species of corticolous lichen (bark-dwelling), in the family Ramalinaceae. First described in 1844, the species is found in Australia, New Zealand, and high altitude areas of Africa.
Ramalina ovalis is green-grey in colour, and has erect branches typically measuring between 1–5 cm (0.39–1.97 in) in length, with a width of between 4–25 mm (0.16–0.98 in). Typically one or two branches make up the majority of the thallus. The species has blunt or rounded apices and laminal apothecia.[2]
Taxonomy
The species was first described in 1844 by Joseph Dalton Hooker and Thomas Taylor.[3] The taxon has been recombined and considered a subspecies or variety several times, including in 1860 when Cardale Babington described the taxon as a variety of Ramalina calicaris, in 1893 as a variety of Ramalina ecklonii by Francis Wilson, in 1930 Alexander Zahlbruckner who called the taxon Ramalina yemensis var. ovalis and in 1987 by Gweneth Nell Stevens, who described the taxon as Ramalina celastri subsp. ovalis.[1] In 2014, the taxon was restored to species rank based on phylogenetic analysis showing that the clade was genetically distinct from Ramalina celastri, as well as morphological and geographic range differences.[2]
