''Loekoesia'' 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 ...

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 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 classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

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 contains three 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 ...

s. Collectively, the genus occurs in South Korea,

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

, and the United States. The genus is distinguished by its grey, crust-like

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 ...

, which can be either whole or divided into patch-like segments. ''Loekoesia'' lichens have bright white, rounded

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 ...

, which produce bluish to whitish powdery

propagule In biology, a propagule is any material that functions in propagating an organism to the next stage in its life cycle, such as by dispersal. The propagule is usually distinct in form from the parent organism. Propagules are produced by organisms ...

s ( soredia) and are arranged in irregular groups on the thallus.

Taxonomy

''Loekoesia'' 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 ...

as a new genus in 2015 by the lichenologists

Sergey Kondratyuk Sergey Yakovlevich Kondratyuk ( uk, Сергій Якович Кондратюк) (born 17 May 1959) is a Ukrainian botanist specialising in lichenology. His research deals with the taxonomy, floristics, ecology and geography of lichens and lic ...

, Soon-Ok Oh, and Jae-Seoun Hur. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, ''

Loekoesia austrocoreana ''Loekoesia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains three species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens. Collectively, the genus occurs in South Korea, Mauritius, and the United States. The gen ...

'', was shown with

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 ...

to form a

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, ...

with ''

Jasonhuria ''Jasonhuria'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It is monotypic, containing only the species ''Jasonhuria bogilana''. This species is a saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen that occurs in South Korea. Taxono ...

'', another genus in the subfamily Caloplacoideae that was also circumscribed in the same publication. It was initially the sole species in the then

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus, but two additional species were transferred from other genera (''

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 ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'') in 2020. The genus name honours the Hungarian lichenologist

László Sándor Lőkös László Sándor Lőkös is a Hungarian lichenologist and curator of the lichen collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest. Education and personal life He studied at Eötvös Loránd University public research university in ...

for his contributions to the body of knowledge about lichens in North and South Korea.

Description

Genus ''Loekoesia'' has lichens with a crustose

, which can be either whole (i.e., undivided, or ) or broken into (patch-like) segments. This thallus is typically grey in colour. Characteristic of this genus are its

(regions of the thallus where powdery soredia are produced), which are rounded, stipitate (having a stalk-like base), and clustered on the thallus in irregular groups. These soralia are bright white, with a soredious mass that appears bluish to whitish and has a powdery texture. The of these lichens is bluish-black. The apothecia (fruiting bodies) of ''Loekoesia'' lichens are black and in form, featuring a that is (comprising fungal

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

e that are oriented in all directions) with a well-developed structural matrix. In terms of chemistry, the thallus of these lichens turns yellow and then greenish-yellow upon exposure to a solution of

potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exp ...

(i.e., the K spot test), and slowly becomes pale yellow when treated with (the Pd spot test). The reacts to potassium hydroxide by turning purple and becoming lighter, hyaline, or dull crimson. These reactions indicate the likely presence of atranorin and other compounds within the lichen.

Species

, Species Fungorum (in the

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxonomic Info ...

) accepts three species of ''Loekoesia'': * ''

Loekoesia apostatica ''Loekoesia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains three species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens. Collectively, the genus occurs in South Korea, Mauritius, and the United States. The gen ...

'' –

* ''

'' – South Korea * ''

Loekoesia yuchiorum ''Loekoesia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains three species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens. Collectively, the genus occurs in South Korea, Mauritius, and the United States. The gen ...

'' – USA

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107289112 Teloschistales Teloschistales genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 2015 Taxa named by Jae-Seoun Hur Taxa named by Sergey Kondratyuk