Roccella DC. is a genus of the Roccellaceae that includes c. 40 fruticose species, mainly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, which are typical of maritime habitats. The Mediterranean Region appears to be surprisingly species-poor when compared e.g. with the situation in Macaronesia. A world key was published by Aptroot & Schumm (2011); the Mediterranean species were treated by Tehler & al. (2004) and, limited to the western species, by Carballal (2013). The present key includes the three species known to occur in Italy (Nimis 2016), a further species whose presence in Italy is possible, plus a fruticose form of Lecanographa grumulosa that is often mistaken for a Roccella (see Ertz & Tehler 2011).

References

Aptroot A., Schumm F. 2011. Fruticose Roccellaceae, an anatomical-microscopical atlas and guide with a worldwide key and further notes on some crustose Roccellaceae or similar lichens. Koeltz Books, 375 pp.
Carballal R. 2013. El género Roccella en la Peninsula Ibérica y las Islas Baleares. Bot. Complut., 37: 13-20.
Ertz D., Tehler A. 2011. The phylogeny of Arthoniales (Pezizomycotina) inferred from nucLSU and RPB2 sequences. Fungal Divers., 49, 1: 47-71.
Nimis P.L. 2016. The Lichens of Italy. A Second Annotated Catalogue. EUT, Trieste, 739 pp.
Tehler A., Dahlkild A., Eldenas P., Feige G.-B. 2004. The phylogeny and taxonomy of Macaronesian, European and Mediterranean Roccella (Roccellaceae, Arthoniales). Symb. Bot. Upsal., 34, 1: 405-428.


Last modified: October, 6, 2024

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