''Flavoplaca limonia'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling),

crustose lichen Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the Substrate (biology), substrate (soil, rock, tree bark, etc.), making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichen ...

in the family

Teloschistaceae The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The family, estimated to contain over 1800 species, was extensively revised in 2013, including the creation o ...

. It was first formally described as a new species in 1994 by lichenologists

Pier Luigi Nimis Pier Luigi Nimis is Professor of Botany at the University of Trieste in Italy. He specialises in lichenology and phytogeography, including the uses of lichens as indicators of pollution and devising methods for web-based identification keys. Ear ...

and Josef Poelt. Ulf Arup and colleagues 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 ''

Flavoplaca ''Flavoplaca'' is a genus of crust-like or scaly lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 28 species with a mostly Northern Hemisphere distribution. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Patrik Frödén and Ulrik Søch ...

'' in 2013, following a

molecular phylogenetics 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 ...

-based restructuring of the family Teloschistaceae. Initially thought to be a southern European species, it has since been shown to have a broader distribution, having been reported from Morocco, Denmark, and Sweden. It can be differentiated from the similar-looking species ''

Flavoplaca citrina ''Flavoplaca'' is a genus of crust-like or scaly lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 28 species with a mostly Northern Hemisphere distribution. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Patrik Frödén and Ulrik Søch ...

'' by having larger , which are rather than soredia, averaging 85±54

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 ...

in size.

References

limonia ''Limonia'' can mean: ;Living things * ''Limonia'' (fly), an insect genus * ''Limonia'' (plant), a flowering plant genus ;Other * Limonia (food) ''Limonia'' can mean: ;Living things * ''Limonia'' (fly), an insect genus * ''Limonia'' (plant) ...

Lichen species Lichens described in 1994 Lichens of Southeastern Europe Lichens of Northern Europe Lichens of North Africa Taxa named by Pier Luigi Nimis Taxa named by Josef Poelt {{Teloschistales-stub