''Igneoplaca'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

in the subfamily Xanthorioideae of 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 contains a single species, the

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 ...

''Igneoplaca ignea''.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1995 by Swedish lichenologist Ulf Arup, who included it in the genus ''

Caloplaca ''Caloplaca'' is a lichen genus comprising a number of distinct species. Members of the genus are commonly called firedot lichen, jewel lichen.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, gold lichens, "ora ...

''. 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

Cape Punta Banda Punta Banda is a prominent cape located southwest of the city of Ensenada in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, Mexico. Geography Punta Banda forms the southern boundary of the Bahía de Todos Santos, sheltering the Port of Ensenada from ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, where it was found growing on rock pavement on a south-facing slope. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''ignea'' (meaning "fire-red") refers to the color of the lobes, which are often orange-red at the base with paler tips – somewhat resembling flames. In 2013, Arup 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 new genus '' Polycauliona'' in a

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 ...

-based reorganization of the Teloschistaceae. A year later, Kondratyuk and colleagues reorganized Teloschistaceae subfamily Caloplacoideae, and circumscribed genus ''Igneoplaca'' to contain the taxon. The genus is named after its species.

Description

Genus ''Igneoplaca'' is characterized by a crustose thallus, composed of red to orange lobes. Its cortical layer is paraplectenchymatous (fungal tissue with a cellular structure superficially like

parenchyma Parenchyma () is the bulk of functional substance in an animal organ or structure such as a tumour. In zoology it is the name for the tissue that fills the interior of flatworms. Etymology The term ''parenchyma'' is New Latin from the word π ...

vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

), while its medulla is prosoplectenchymatous (fungal tissue with a structure superficially like collenchyma of vascular plants). Apothecia are

lecanorine A lichen has lecanorine fruiting body parts if they are shaped like a plate with a ring around them, and that ring is made of tissue similar to the main non-fruiting body part of the lichen.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale ...

with a paraplectenchymatous true exciple. The lichen contains anthraquinones of the parietin chemosyndrome. ''Igneoplaca'' is similar to ''

Calogaya ''Calogaya'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It has 19 species. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Ulrik Søchting, and Patrik Frödén. The generic name ''Calogaya'' ("spectacular Gaya" ...

'', but that genus does not have a prosoplectenchymatous medulla.

Habitat and distribution

''Igneoplaca ignea'' occurs in Baja Mexico and in southern California. It grows on rock in sunny areas, preferentially on

acidic rock Acidic rock or acid rock refers to the chemical composition of igneous rocks that has 63% wt% SiO2 content. Rocks described as acidic usually contain more than 20% of free quartz. Typical acidic rocks are granite or rhyolite. Term is used in che ...

such as volcanic rock,

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...

pebble A pebble is a clast of rock with a particle size of based on the Udden-Wentworth scale of sedimentology. Pebbles are generally considered larger than granules ( in diameter) and smaller than cobbles ( in diameter). A rock made predominant ...

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

, and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q43375876, from2=Q43375891, from3=Q10440484 Lichen genera Teloschistales Teloschistales genera Taxa described in 2014 Taxa named by John Alan Elix Taxa named by Ingvar Kärnefelt Fungi without expected TNC conservation status