Nephroma is a subcosmopolitan and rather well-known genus of c. 36 species (see e.g. Vitikainen 2007). A phylogenetic analysis by Lohtander & al. (2002) has demonstrated that all Nephroma-species form a monophyletic group, presently placed in the Nephromataceae, and that Peltigera is the sister group to Nephroma. The European species were monographed by James & White (1987), who gave important insights on their complex chemistry. Relevant, more recnt works are those by Timdal & al. (2020, 2021).
This key includes the eight species which are known to occur in Italy (see Nimis 2016, Timdal & al. 2021), plus a species known from Switzerland, which should be looked for in the Italian Alps.

References

James P.W., White F.J. 1987. Studies on the lichen genus Nephroma. I. The European and Macaronesien species. Lichenologist, 19: 215-268.
Lohtander K., Oksanen I., Rikkinen J. 2002. A phylogenetic study of Nephroma (lichen-forming Ascomycota). Mycol, Res., 106, 7: 777-787.
Nimis P.L. 2016. The Lichens of Italy. A Second Annotated Catalogue. EUT, Trieste, 739 pp.
Timdal E., Westberg M., Haugan R., Hofton T.H., Holien H., Speed J.D.M., Tønsberg T., Bendiksby M. 2020. Integrative taxonomy reveals a new species, Nephroma orvoi, in the N. parile species complex (lichenized Ascomycota). Graphis Scripta, 32, 4: 70-85.
Timdal E., Hofton T. H., Westberg M., Bendiksby M. 2021. The Nephroma helveticum complex (Peltigerales, lichenized Ascomycota) in the Nordic countries. Graphis Scripta, 33, 6: 86–110.
Vitikainen O. 2007. Nephroma. Nordic Lichen Flora, 3: 91-95.

Last modified: July, 11, 2023

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