Ramalina, with c. 250 species worldwide, is one of the few genera of lichens that includes a high number of endemic species, especially on islands (e.g. in Macaronesia, Saint Helena, the Galapagos, Hawaii, and possibly Sardinia). A molecular study by Sérusiaux & al. (2010b) did not find any support for the recognition of the segregated genus Fistulariella Bowler & Rundel, and showed that the genus Niebla Rundel & Bowler is restricted to the New World, so that the several superficially similar species of Macaronesia and the Mediterranean Region should be retained in Ramalina. The genus is still insufficiently studied in southern Europe; the species of the Iberian Peninsula were treated by Arroyo (1993); a key to Macaronesian species (incl. the Azores) was provided by Aptroot & Schumm (2008). The present key includes the species which are known to occur in Italy (Nimis 2016), plus a few species known from neighbouring countries and to be looked for in Italy, for a total of 36 infrageneric taxa.

References

Aptroot A., Schumm F. 2008. Key to Ramalina species known from Atlantic islands, with two new species from the Azores. Sauteria, 15: 21-57.
Arroyo R. 1993. El genero Ramalina Ach. en la Peninsula Iberica: quimica, quimiotaxonomia, morfologia, anatomia y distribucion. Editorial de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. 369 pp.
Nimis P.L. 2016. The lichens of Italy. A second annotated catalogue. EUT, Trieste, 740 pp.
Sérusiaux E., van den Boom P.P.D., Ertz D. 2010. A two-gene phylogeny shows the lichen genus Niebla (Lecanorales) is endemic to the New Wold and does not occur in Macaronesia nor in the Mediterranean basin. Fungal Biol., 114: 528-537.

Last modified: June, 30, 2024

Project Dryades, Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste - CC BY-SA 4.0