''Leproplaca cirrochroa'' is a widespread and common 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 grows up to 5 cm across, featuring a thallus with narrow, finger-like that adhere closely to the surface, showing intricate division and ranging in colour from dirty orange to brownish orange, often with paler, orange ends.

Taxonomy

The species was first scientifically described by Swedish lichenologist Erik Acharius in 1814, as a member of the genus ''

Lecanora ''Lecanora'' is a genus of lichen commonly called rim lichens.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, Lichens in the genus ''Squamarina'' are also called rim lichens. Members of the genus have roughly ci ...

''. Ulf Arup and colleagues transferred it to the genus ''

Leproplaca ''Leproplaca'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. Its exhibits a Leprose lichen, leprose growth form, where the thallus consists primarily of asexual propagules called Soredium, soredia. Species *''Leproplaca chry ...

'' 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.

Description

''Leproplaca cirrochroa'' is a distinctive lichen species that can grow up to across. Its

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 ...

is , forming narrow, finger-like that are closely against the . These lobes are intricately divided and arranged in irregularly rounded formations or sometimes as small, scattered, or contiguous thalli. The colouration of ''Leproplaca cirrochroa'' ranges from dirty to brown-orange, with the ends of the lobes often having a and paler orange hue. The lobe ends are typically about 0.2–0.5 mm wide, rounded, and occasionally forked. They are shallowly convex and elongated, often lying contiguous to each other and separated by almost parallel-aligned furrows.

Soralia Soredia are common reproductive structures of lichens. Lichens reproduce asexually by employing simple fragmentation and production of soredia and isidia. Soredia are powdery propagules composed of fungal hyphae wrapped around cyanobacteria o ...

are usually present on the laminal surface and are scattered across the thallus. These soralia are small and flat, rounded, and can be up to 0.8 mm in diameter. The soredia produced are and lemon-yellow in colour. Apothecia (fruiting bodies) are rare in ''Leproplaca cirrochroa'', measuring up to 0.5 mm in diameter and scattered across the thallus. When present, the apothecia are flat with a persistent that is orange in colour. The of the apothecia is a deeper orange shade. The

paraphyses Paraphyses are erect sterile filament-like support structures occurring among the reproductive apparatuses of fungi, ferns, bryophytes and some thallophytes. The singular form of the word is paraphysis. In certain fungi, they are part of the fe ...

(filament-like support structures) are and mostly not swollen at the tips. are narrowly

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

, measuring 10–15 by 5 μm with a

septum In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; plural septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interatri ...

that is 2–3 μm wide, which is less than one-third of the length of the ascospore. All parts of this lichen react with a K+ (purple) colouration when subjected to chemical spot tests.

Habitat and distribution

''Leproplaca cirrochroa'' is widely distributed, having been recorded from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q26267722 , from2=Q59457457 Teloschistales Lichen species Lichens described in 1814 Lichens of Africa Lichens of Asia Lichens of Australia Lichens of Europe Lichens of North America Lichens of South America Cosmopolitan lichens Taxa named by Erik Acharius