lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Parmeliaceae. It is a large genus, containing an estimated 300 species, with a centre of diversity in
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
regions of South America and the
Pacific Islands
Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...
.
Members of the genus are commonly called ruffle lichens or scatter-rag lichens.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014,
Description
''Parmotrema'' is characterized by its typically large, moderately to loosely-attached foliose thallus with broad lobes that are usually more than 5 mm wide. There is a broad, naked zone around the margin of the lower surface, an epicortex with pores and an upper cortex with a palisade- plectenchymatous arrangement of
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 ...
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 ...
.
Taxonomy
The genus was proposed as a genus by Italian lichenologist
Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo
Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo (13 May 1824 – 25 May 1860) was an Italian paleobotanist and lichenologist. He was born in Tregnago in the Province of Verona and took a great interest in botany as a young man. Massalongo joined the faculty of med ...
in 1860, with ''
Parmotrema perforatum
''Parmotrema'' is a genus of lichen belonging to the family Parmeliaceae. It is a large genus, containing an estimated 300 species, with a centre of diversity in subtropical regions of South America and the Pacific Islands.
Members of the genus ...
'' as the type species. The genus name, composed of the Greek ''parmos'' (cup) and ''trema'' (perforation), refers to the perforate apothecia. ''Parmotrema'' was largely ignored as a genus, and its species were usually grouped in section ''Amphigymnia'' of the large genus '' Parmelia''. Several genera previously segregated from ''Parmotrema'' have since been folded back in owing to
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 ...
evidence, including ''Canomaculina'', ''Concamerella'', ''Parmelaria'', and ''Rimelia''.
Parmotrema chinense
''Parmotrema'' is a genus of lichen belonging to the family Parmeliaceae. It is a large genus, containing an estimated 300 species, with a centre of diversity in subtropical regions of South America and the Pacific Islands.
Members of the genus ...