''Alyxoria viridipruinosa'' is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) and

lignicolous This glossary of mycology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to mycology, the study of fungi. Terms in common with other fields, if repeated here, generally focus on their mycology-specific meaning. Related terms can be found ...

(wood-dwelling)

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Lecanographaceae ''Lecanographaceae'' is a family of mostly lichens (also some lichenicolous fungi) in the order Arthoniales. The family was circumscribed in 2014, prompted by a molecular phylogenetic-based restructuring of the Arthoniales. Description Lecanogra ...

. It is found in Europe, where it grows on

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

trees.

Taxonomy

The lichen was first formally described as a new species in 2011 by lichenologists Brian Coppins and Rebecca Yahr. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

was collected from

Needham Market Needham Market is a town in Suffolk, England. The town of Needham, Massachusetts, was named after Needham Market. History It initially grew around the wool combing industry, until the onset of the plague, which swept the town from 1663 to 1665. ...

(

East Suffolk East Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * East Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * East Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * East Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral dist ...

, England), where it was found growing on the bark of '' Sambucus'' in a little-used, sheltered, chalk pit. The species epithet refers to the yellowish-green colour of the pruina visible on the and . Damien Ertz transferred the

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

to the genus ''

Alyxoria ''Alyxoria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Lecanographaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the ...

'' in 2012.

Description

The lichen has a thin, grey-green, powdery

thallus Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms wer ...

. Its ascomata are in the form of that are evenly distributed throughout the thallus, and typically measure 0.3–0.6 mm long and 0.1–0.3 mm wide. The mostly-exposed disc is dark brown and covered with a green pruina that turns yellow after being dried. The

ascospore An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or s ...

s, which measure eight per

ascus An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or s ...

, are

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

, usually have 4 or 5

septa The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

, and typically measure 15–19 by 4–5

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

Habitat and distribution

In addition to England, ''Alyxoria viridipruinosa'' has also been recorded in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and the Netherlands. It grows on a variety of

trees, usually in

secondary woodland A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

, and often at forest edges.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21239331 Arthoniomycetes Lichen species Lichens described in 2011 Lichens of Northern Europe Taxa named by Brian John Coppins Lichens of Central Europe