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Porocyphaceae
Family of lichens From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Porocyphaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Lichinales. Members of this family are typically small, dark-coloured lichens that form partnerships with cyanobacteria and grow on rocks, soil, or occasionally tree bark in well-lit areas that experience periodic wetting. The family was originally established in 1855 but was largely ignored until a 2024 study greatly expanded its scope to include genera previously placed in several other families. Porocyphaceae species are found worldwide, though they are uncommon in densely shaded forests.
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Taxonomy
The name Porocyphaceae was originally established by Gustav Wilhelm Körber in 1855 for Porocyphus.[2] Later authors did not adopt the family, and Porocyphus was usually classified in the family Ephebaceae. A 2024 multilocus phylogeny and character study by Prieto, Wedin, and Schultz reinstated and emended Porocyphaceae to cover a much larger clade, treating Heppiaceae, Ephebaceae and Pyrenopsidaceae as synonyms under Porocyphaceae. The same work set out the included genera and indicated that a few placements—such as Calotrichopsis, Gyrocollema, Pseudoheppia and Stromatella—are provisional pending further molecular data. The Lichina willeyi species group was transferred into Porocyphus.[1]
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Description
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Species of Porocyphaceae are usually small, dark (often blackish) cyanolichens. Thalli are commonly homoiomerous (with photobiont and mycobiont intermingled) and mostly ecorticate; growth forms range from crustose to squamulose, foliose, dwarf-fruticose, filamentous and, rarely, endolithic. Photobionts include single-celled cyanobacteria with yellow-brown or reddish-purple gelatinous sheaths as well as filamentous forms such as Nostoc, Scytonema, Stigonema and members of the Rivulariaceae.[1]
Ascomata are predominantly pycnoascocarps, i.e., the sexual structures develop from ascogones formed beneath pycnidia. Apothecia, when present, may be zeorine, lecanorine or biatorine in form; a proper exciple is often developed. Asci are mainly prototunicate of the Lichina or Peccania types and are typically eight‑spored, though polyspory occurs; some taxa possess unitunicate-rostrate asci. Paraphyses are always present; ascospores are simple and usually broadly ellipsoid. Conidiomata are pycnidia with simple conidiophores that produce small, simple conidia.[1]
In practice the family differs from Lichinaceae by its mostly pycnoascocarpous ascomata, from Phylliscaceae by lacking unitunicate‑rostrate asci and corticate, dorsiventrally stratified thalli, and from Lichinellaceae by lacking thallinocarps and Lichinella-type asci.[1]
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Habitat and distribution
Porocyphaceae is cosmopolitan but is scarce in dense, shaded forests without exposed rock or soil. Species occur on a wide variety of rocks (often seasonally or episodically wetted and in well-lit microhabitats), in amphibious or periodically inundated situations, and in biological soil crusts; a few are rarely corticolous. No secondary metabolites have been detected in Porocyphaceae species by thin-layer chromatography.[1]
Genera
- Calotrichopsis Vain. (1890)[3]
- Cladopsis Nyl. (1885)[4]
- Ephebe Fr. (1825)[5]
- Gyrocollema Vain. (1929)[6]
- Heppia Nägeli ex A.Massal. (1854)[7]
- Lapismalleus M.Schultz & M.Prieto (2024)[1]
- Lecidopyrenopsis Vain. (1907)[8]
- Lempholemma Körb. (1855)[2]
- Paracyphus M.Schultz & M.Prieto (2024)[1]
- Pleopyrenis Clem. (1909)[9]
- Porocyphus Körb. (1855)[2]
- Pseudocarpon M.Schultz & M.Prieto (2024)[1]
- Pseudoheppia Zahlbr. (1903)[10]
- Pyrenopsis (Nyl.) Nyl. (1858)[11]
- Stromatella Henssen (1989)[12]
- Thermutis Fr. (1825)[5]
- Thyrea A.Massal. (1856)[13]
- Tichocyphus M.Schultz & M.Prieto (2024)[1]
- Watsoniomyces D.Hawksw., Mark Powell & T.Sprib. (2021)[14]
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References
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