Sulcaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sulcaria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sulcaria isidiifera | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Parmeliaceae |
| Genus: | Sulcaria Bystrek (1971) |
| Type species | |
| Sulcaria sulcata (Lév.) Bystrek (1971) | |
| Species | |
Sulcaria is a genus of three species of fruticose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae.[1] Sulcaria was circumscribed by lichenologist Jan Bystrek in 1971.[2] These lichens form hair-like or rope-like structures that hang from or grow upright on tree bark, with branches that develop distinctive lengthwise grooves as they age. They reproduce through disc-shaped fruiting bodies that contain large, dark brown spores with two unequal cells.
The Polish lichenologist Jan Bystrek introduced Sulcaria in 1971, separating it from the morphologically diverse genus Alectoria. In the protologue he based the new genus on its distinctive longitudinally-grooved ("sulcate") branches and its large, usually two-celled, dark brown ascospores. Bystrek designated Sulcaria sulcata (Lév.) Bystrek as the type species and recognised a second member, S. virens (Taylor) Bystrek, giving the genus an exclusively East-Asian distribution at that time.[2]
Subsequent nomenclatural scrutiny showed that Bystrek's 1971 combination for the type species was not validly published because it failed to satisfy Article 41.4 of the Melbourne Code (the International Code of Nomenclature).[3] Under this article, any new combination must include a full and direct reference to the place where the original basionym was validly published—typically a page number and publication details. Bystrek cited the epithet but omitted that essential bibliographic reference, so the name remained a nomen invalidum (invalid name). The omission was corrected six years later, when the name was validated as Sulcaria sulcata (Lév.) Bystrek ex Brodo & D.Hawksw. (1977), thereby firmly fixing both the genus and its type.[4]
