''Emodomelanelia'' is a lichen genus in the family Parmeliaceae. It is monotypic, containing the single foliose Himalayan species ''Emodomelanelia masonii''.

Taxonomy

''Emodomelanelia masonii'' was first described in 1991 as ''Parmelia masonii'' by lichenologists Theodore Esslinger and Josef Poelt. It was named in honour of

Mason Hale Mason Ellsworth Hale, Jr. (September 23, 1929 – April 23, 1990) was one of the most prolific lichenologists of the 20th century. Many of his scholarly articles focused on the taxonomy of the family Parmeliaceae. Hale was one of the first liche ...

, the "preeminent student of the Parmeliaceae". The genus 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 ...

in 2010 by Pradeep Kumar Divakar and

Ana Crespo Ana María Crespo de las Casas (born 30 March 1948, Santa Cruz de Tenerife) is a Spanish lichenologist noted for studying the phytosociology, taxonomy and floristics of Mediterranean lichens. She was awarded the 2012 Acharius Medal from the Intern ...

. ''Emodomelanelia'' is in the "Melanohalea"

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

(one of nine major groups in the Parmelioid clade of the Parmeliaceae) along with the genera '' Melanelixia'' and ''

Melanohalea ''Melanohalea'' is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains 30 mostly Northern Hemisphere species that grow on bark or on wood. The genus is characterized by the presence of pseudocyphellae, usually on warts or on ...

''. The genus name combines ''emodo'' (referring to the Himalayas) and ''melanelia'' (referring to the brown colour of the upper thallus surface).

Description

Characteristics of the genus ''Emodomelanelia'' include an olive brown to brown thallus, narrow to moderately broad lobes, a non-pored epicortex, the presence of effigurate

pseudocyphella Pseudocyphellae (singular ''pseudocyphella'') are structures in lichens that appear as tiny pores on the outer surface (the cortex of the lichen. They are caused when there is a break in the cortex of the lichen, and the medullary hyphae extend t ...

e (i.e. with a lobed shape), and bifusiform

conidia A conidium ( ; ), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (), is an asexual, non-motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also called mitospores due to the ...

. The cortex stains green with HNO₃⁺.

Habitat and distribution

''Emodomelanelia masonii'' is endemic to the Himalayas, where it grows on rocks in

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

and subalpine habitats. It has been recorded from mainland China, India, Nepal and Taiwan.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21223332 Monotypic Lecanorales genera Lichen genera Parmeliaceae Taxa described in 2010 Taxa named by Josef Poelt