Sagiolechia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sagiolechia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sagiolechia monoseptata | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Ostropales |
| Family: | Sagiolechiaceae |
| Genus: | Sagiolechia A.Massal. (1854) |
| Type species | |
| Sagiolechia protuberans (Ach.) A.Massal. (1854) | |
| Species | |
|
S. atlantica | |
Sagiolechia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Sagiolechiaceae.[1] These lichens form either extremely thin crusts within their substrate or live parasitically on other lichens without forming their own thallus. The genus is characterised by distinctive black, glossy fruiting bodies that begin embedded within the host material and later erupt to the surface, often developing elaborate folded or star-like forms. Sagiolechia contains six species found in diverse locations including Alaska, Greenland, Norway, and Madeira, with most species being quite rare and relatively recently discovered.
The genus was circumscribed by lichenologist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1854, who assigned Sagiolechia protuberans as the type species. In his original description, Massalongo characterised Sagiolechia by its apothecia (fruiting bodies) that begin as dot-like structures completely enclosed within the thallus, later erupting to become prominent and assuming various forms—from urn-shaped to elaborately folded with star-like tears and a papillate (pimple-like) centre. He noted the distinctive charcoal-like and starchy exterior and described the presence of eight-spored asci with thick, oval paraphyses. Massalongo distinguished the genus by its consistently translucent (hyaline) spores that are tetrablastic or quadrilocular (four-celled), establishing the morphological foundation that would define Sagiolechia as a distinct genus.[2] The family Sagiolechiaceae was proposed in 2010 to contain Sagiolechia as the type genus, and genus Rhexophiale; molecular phylogenetics analysis showed that these two genera formed a distinct clade in the Ostropales.[3]