''Cladia'' is a genus of

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.fungi in the family Cladoniaceae. ''Cladia'' species have a crustose primary thallus and a fruticose, secondary thallus, often referred to as pseudopodetium. The type species of the genus, ''

Cladia aggregata ''Cladia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Cladoniaceae. ''Cladia'' species have a crustose primary thallus and a fruticose, secondary thallus, often referred to as pseudopodetium. The type species of the genus, '' Cladia aggregata'' ...

'', is widely distributed, occurring from South America, South Africa, Australasia and South-East Asia to southern Japan and India. Most of the other species are found in the Southern Hemisphere.

Taxonomy

''Cladia'' was

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

by Finnish lichenologist William Nylander in 1870 with ''

'' as the type species. Rex Filson created a separate family, the Cladiaceae, to contain the genus, but this is no longer used and the genus is classified in the family Cladoniaceae. An updated phylogeny of the Cladoniaceae was published in 2018.

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

evidence showed that the genera ''Heterodea'' and ''Ramalinora'' were nested within ''Cladina'', so they are now

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

. Because the name ''Heterodea'' predated ''Cladina'', the generic name ''Cladia'' was proposed for conservation against ''Heterodea'' to avoid several nomenclatural changes that would have been necessary. The proposal was accepted by both the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi and the General Committee.

Description

''Cladia'' consists of fruticose lichens with typically a perforate pseudopodetia with an external cartilaginous layer. The apothecia are black or brown and have a persistent proper margin and a flat disc. The

asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

are eight-spored with a well-developed amyloid tholus with a darker-staining central tube. The pycnidia are immersed in grossly black to brown projections that are initially blunt and measure up to 0.5 mm long and eventually become needle-like and up to 1 mm long.

Ecology

Eight species of lichenicolous fungi are known to grow on ''Cladia'': ''

Echinothecium cladoniae ''Echinothecium'' is a genus of fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are c ...

'' Keissl. nom. nud. (on ''C. aggregata'' from Columbia; Etayo 2002), ''

Lichenoconium echinosporum ''Lichenoconium'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Lichenoconiaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Franz Petrak and Hans Sydow in 1927. Species The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. , Species Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is ...

'' D. Hawksw. (on ''C. muelleri'' from Australia; Hawksworth 1977), '' Roselliniella heterodeae'' Matzer & Hafellner (on ''C. muelleri'' from Australia; Matzer & Hafellner 1990); ''

Pyrenidium actinellum ''Pyrenidium'' is a genus of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungi. It is the only genus in the family Pyrenidiaceae. It has 13 species. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Finnish lichenologist William Nylander in 1865, with '' Pyrenidium a ...

'' Nyl. agg. (on ''C. aggregata'' from Columbia; Etayo 2002); ''

Endococcus cladiae ''Endococcus'' is a genus of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) in the family Lichenotheliaceae. It has 44 species. The genus was circumscribed by the Finnish botanist William Nylander in 1855. Although at least one source places the genus in the V ...

'' Zhurb. & Pino-Bodas; ''

Lichenopeltella soiliae ''Lichenopeltella'' is a genus of fungi in the class Dothideomycetes with 48 species. Its classification is incertae sedis with respect to familial and ordinal placement within the class. It maybe in Trichothyriaceae. Species *'' Lichenopelt ...

'' Zhurb. & Pino-Bodas, and ''

Lichenosticta hoegnabbae ''Lichenosticta'' is a genus of fungi of uncertain familial placement in the order Lecanorales. It has five species. All species are lichenicolous, meaning they are parasitic on lichens. Species *'' Lichenosticta alcicorniaria'' – host = ' ...

'' Zhurb. & Pino-Bodas.

Chemistry

The type species, ''Cladia aggregata'', is highly variable morphologically and has extensive chemical variation. Kantvilas & Elix (1999) revised the ''C. aggregata'' complex in Tasmania and identified six

chemotype A chemotype (sometimes chemovar) is a chemically distinct entity in a plant or microorganism, with differences in the composition of the secondary metabolites. Minor genetic and epigenetic changes with little or no effect on morphology or anatomy m ...

s in ''C. aggregata'' sensu stricto. Similarly, five chemotypes were found in specimens from the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina, Brazil. In both studies, most of them contained

barbatic acid Barbatic acid is an organic compound that is made by some lichens. It is in the structural class known as depsides. It is particularly common in the genera ''Usnea'' (the beard lichens) and ''Cladonia''. History The compound was first isolated ...

and 4-O-demethylbarbatic acid. Barbatic acid is

cytotoxic Cytotoxicity is the quality of being toxic to cells. Examples of toxic agents are an immune cell or some types of venom, e.g. from the puff adder (''Bitis arietans'') or brown recluse spider (''Loxosceles reclusa''). Cell physiology Treating cells ...

, and kills the worms of ''

Schistosoma mansoni A paired couple of ''Schistosoma mansoni''. ''Schistosoma mansoni'' is a water-borne parasite of humans, and belongs to the group of blood flukes (''Schistosoma''). The adult lives in the blood vessels ( mesenteric veins) near the human inte ...

'' in in vitro studies. This is the causative agent of

Schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody s ...

Species

Revisions of ''Cladia'' published in 2012 and 2013 included 23 species in the genus. , Species Fungorum accepts 20 species in ''Cladia'': *''

'' *''

Cladia beaugleholei ''Cladia beaugleholei'' is a lichen in the family Cladoniaceae, found in Australia. It was first described as ''Heterodea beaugleholei'' in 1978 by Rex Filson, from a specimen collected from forest soil in New South Wales. The species epithet ...

'' *'' Cladia blanchonii'' *'' Cladia cryptica'' *'' Cladia deformis'' *'' Cladia dumicola'' *''

Cladia glaucolivida ''Cladia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Cladoniaceae. ''Cladia'' species have a crustose primary thallus and a fruticose, secondary thallus, often referred to as pseudopodetium. The type species of the genus, ''Cladia aggregata'' ...

'' *''

Cladia globosa ''Cladia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Cladoniaceae. ''Cladia'' species have a crustose primary thallus and a fruticose, secondary thallus, often referred to as pseudopodetium. The type species of the genus, ''Cladia aggregata'' ...

'' *'' Cladia gorgonea'' *'' Cladia inflata'' *''

Cladia moniliformis ''Cladia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Cladoniaceae. ''Cladia'' species have a crustose primary thallus and a fruticose, secondary thallus, often referred to as pseudopodetium. The type species of the genus, ''Cladia aggregata'' ...

'' *'' Cladia muelleri'' *'' Cladia mutabilis'' *''

Cladia neocaledonica ''Cladia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Cladoniaceae. ''Cladia'' species have a crustose primary thallus and a fruticose, secondary thallus, often referred to as pseudopodetium. The type species of the genus, ''Cladia aggregata'' ...

'' *''

Cladia occulta ''Cladia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Cladoniaceae. ''Cladia'' species have a crustose primary thallus and a fruticose, secondary thallus, often referred to as pseudopodetium. The type species of the genus, ''Cladia aggregata'' ...

'' – Tasmania *''

Cladia oreophila ''Cladia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Cladoniaceae. ''Cladia'' species have a crustose primary thallus and a fruticose, secondary thallus, often referred to as pseudopodetium. The type species of the genus, ''Cladia aggregata'' ...

'' *'' Cladia schizopora'' *'' Cladia tasmanica'' *''

Cladia terebrata ''Cladia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Cladoniaceae. ''Cladia'' species have a crustose primary thallus and a fruticose, secondary thallus, often referred to as pseudopodetium. The type species of the genus, ''Cladia aggregata'' ...

'' *''

Cladia xanthocarpa ''Cladia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Cladoniaceae. ''Cladia'' species have a crustose primary thallus and a fruticose, secondary thallus, often referred to as pseudopodetium. The type species of the genus, ''Cladia aggregata'' ...

'' – Australia

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5124923 Lichen genera Lecanorales genera Taxa named by William Nylander (botanist) Taxa described in 1870