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 (see also Spjut & al. 2020). The species of the Canary Islands were treated by Krog & Østhagen (1980), those of Fennoscandia and the British Isles by Krog & James (1977); a key to Macaronesian species (incl. the Azores) was provided by Aptroot & Schumm (2008). In southern Europe the genus is still insufficiently studied: the species of the Iberian Peninsula were treated by Arroyo (1993). 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 37 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.
Krog H., James P.W. 1977. The genus Ramalina in Fennoscandia and the British Isles. Norw. J. Bot., 24: 15-43.
Krog H., Østhagen H. 1980. The genus Ramalina in the Canary Islands. Norw. J. Bot., 27: 255-296.
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.
Spjut R., Simon A., Guissard M., Magain N., Sérusiaux E. 2020. The fruticose genera in the Ramalinaceae (Ascomycota, Lecanoromycetes): their diversity and evolutionary history. MycoKeys, 73: 1-68.

Last modified: September, 12, 2025

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