This small key includes crustose lichens with transversally multi-sepatte spores and lecanorine apothecia which were previously included in the genus Haematomma. For a long time, this genus included species which are now ascribed to four different genera, differing in their asci, paraphyses, conidiophores, pycnidial and epihymenial pigments, secondary metabolites, and lichenicolous fungi:
1) Chicitaea Guzow-Krzem., Kukwa & Lendemer - The phylogeny of the the species formerly included in Loxospora has been recently studied by Ptach-Styn & al. (2024), who found that two groups can be distinguished, based on differences in secondary chemistry that correlate with differences in characters of the sexual reproductive structures (asci and ascospores). Molecular phylogenetic analyses recovered these groups as monophyletic, supporting their recognition as distinct genera. Species containing 2’-O-methylperlatolic acid were transferred to the new genus Chicitaea.
. 2) Haematomma A. Massal. - This rather well-defined genus, presently included in the Haematommataceae (see Lumbsch & al. 2008), comprises c. 50 species, with Australia and South America being the main centres of diversity.
3) Loxospora A. Massal. - A genus of c. 10, often sterile species occurring mostly as epiphytes in cool-temperate regions. Six species are restricted to the Northern Hemisphere whereas three occur in Australasia and montane areas of Borneo, New Guinea and New Caledonia. The genus is now placed in the family Sarrameanaceae in the order Sarrameanales (see Kantvilas 2004).
4) Ophioparma Norman - A genus of c. 10 species occurring in boreal, high montane and temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere and of South America, segregated from Haematomma mainly on the basis of ascus characters. It is now placed in the Ophioparmaceae within the Umbilicariales (Lumbsch & al. 2008).
The key includes the 6 infrageneric taxa known to occur in Italy (Nimis 2016), plus other 5 species which are presently known from the eastern and from the western Mediterranean region and whose presence in Italy is possible, for a total of 11 infrageneric taxa.

References

Kantvilas G. 2004. Sarrameanaceae. Flora of Australia, 56A: 74-77.
Lumbsch H.T., Nelsen M.P., Lücking R. 2008. The phylogenetic position of Haematommataceae (Lecanorales, Ascomycota), with notes on secondary chemistry and species delimitation. Nova Hedwigia, 86, 1-2: 105-114.
Nimis P.L. 2016. The lichens of Italy. A second annotated catalogue. EUT, Trieste, 740 pp.
Ptach-Styn Ł., Guzow-Krzemińska B., Lendemer J.C., Tønsberg T., Kukwa M. 2024. Phylogeny of the genus Loxospora s.l. (Sarrameanales, Lecanoromycetes, Ascomycota), with Chicitaea gen. nov. and five new combinations in Chicitaea and Loxospora. MycoKeys, 102: 155-181.

Last modified: February, 21, 2024

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