Phlyctis (Wallr.) Flot. is a genus of c. 20 species (Tønsberg 2004), which has the highest diversity in tropical to temperate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, with two species only occurring in Europe. The genus was traditionally included in the Lecanorales due to the amyloid hymenium and the chlorococcoid photobiont. Thallus and apothecial structure, however, are more reminiscent of the Ostropales, therefore supporting the placement of the Phlyctidaceae in the latter group, as suggested by molecular phylogenetic inference (Wedin & al. 2005, Miadlikowska & al. 2006, Baloch & al. 2010, Lumbsch & Huhndorf 2010).
This is a key to the two species occurring in Italy (Nimis 2016).

References

Baloch E., Lücking R., Lumbsch H.T., Wedin M. 2010. Major clades and phylogenetic relationships between lichenized and non-lichenized lineages in Ostropales (Ascomycota: Lecanoromycetes). Taxon, 59, 5: 1483-1494.
Lumbsch H.T., Huhndorf S.M. 2010. Outline of Ascomycota. 2009. Fieldiana, Life and Earth Sciences, 1: 1-60.
Miadlikowska J., Kauff F., Hofsterrer V., Fraker E., Grube M., Hafellner J., Reeb V., Hodkinson B.P., Kukwa M., Lücking R., Hestmark G., Otálora M.G., Rauhut A., Büdel B., Scheidegger Ch., Timdal E., Stenroos S., Ertz D., Diederich P., Lendemer J.C., May Ph. 2006. New insights into classification and evolution of the Lecanoromycetes (Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota) from phylogenetic analyses of three ribosomal RNA- and two protein-coding genes. Mycologia, 98: 1088-1103.
Nimis P.L. 2016. The lichens of Italy. A second annotated catalogue. EUT, Trieste, 740 pp.
Tønsberg T. 2004, Phlyctis. In: Nash III T. & al.(eds.), Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region, Vol. 2., pp  415-416. Lichens Unlimited, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.
Wedin M., Wiklund E., Crewe A., Döring H., Ekman S., Nyberg Å., Schmitt I., Lumbsch H.T. 2005. Phylogenetic relationships of Lecanoromycetes (Ascomycota) as revealed by analyses of mtSSU and nLSU rDNA sequence data. Mycol. Res., 109, 2: 159-172.

Last modified: September, 10, 2022

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