Flavopaarmelia, first monographed by Hale (1986), includes c. 32 species of yellow-green foliose lichens characterised by broad rounded lobes, non-ciliate margins, a pored epicortex, bifusiform or fusiform conidia, a cortex containing usnic acid, and cell-walls composed of isolichenan. The genus has a worldwide distribution with the highest diversity in temperate and subtropical areas. For further details on its systematic position see Crespo & al. (2010).
Flavopunctelia is a segregate of Punctelia based on differences in conidial morphology and chemistry (see Hale 1984). Molecular studies confirm the distinction of these two groups with roundish pseudocyphellae at generic level (Thell & al. 2005). The genus consists of c. 5 species and has its speciation centre in Europe, Africa and South America. It is characterised by broad, yellow-green lobes with punctiform pseudocyphellae on the upper surface, by bifusiform conidia, and by the presence of usnic acid.
This is a key to the four species of Flavoparmelia and Flavopunctelia occurring in Italy (see Nimis 2016).

References

Crespo A., Kauff F., Divakar P.K., del Prado R., Pérez-Ortega S., Amo de Paz G., Ferencova Z., Blanco O., Roca-Valiente B., Núñez-Zapata J., Cubas P., Argüello A., Elix J.A., Esslinger T.L., Hawksworth D.L., Millanes A., Molina M.C., Wedin M., Ahti T., Aptroot A. 2010. Phylogenetic generic classification of parmelioid lichens (Parmeliaceae, Ascomycota) based on molecular, morphological and chemical evidence. Taxon, 59, 6: 1735-1753.
Hale M.E. 1984. Flavopunctelia, a new genus in the Parmeliaceae (Ascomycotina). Mycotaxon, 20: 681-682.
Hale M.E. 1986. Flavoparmelia, a new genus in the lichen family Parmeliaceae (Ascomycotina). Mycotaxon, 25: 603-605.
Nimis P.L. 2016. The Lichens of Italy. A Second Annotated Catalogue. EUT, Trieste, 739 pp.
Thell A., Herber B., Aptroot A., Adler M.T., Feuerer T., Kärnefelt I. 2005. A preliminary phylogeographic study of Flavopunctelia and Punctelia inferred from rDNA ITS-sequences. Folia Cryptog. Estonica, 41: 115-122.

Last modified: April, 24, 2024

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