lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Peltigeraceae. It has nine species.
Taxonomy
The genus 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 ...
by lichenologists Bibiana Moncada and
Robert Lücking
Robert Lücking (born 1964) is a German lichenologist. He is a leading expert on foliicolous lichens–lichens that live on leaves.
Life and career
Born in Ulm in 1964, Lücking earned both his master's (1990) and PhD degree (1994) at the Univer ...
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, ...
of predominantly neotropical lichens. The genus name honours Japanese botanist and lichenologist Isao Yoshimura for his contributions to the understanding of the genus ''
Lobaria
''Lobaria'' is a genus of foliose lichens, formerly classified in the family Lobariaceae, but now placed in the Peltigeraceae. They are commonly known as "lung wort" or "lungmoss" as their physical shape somewhat resembles a lung, and their ecol ...
'' and allied species. Seven species were included in the original circumscription of the genus.
Description
''Yoshimuriella'' consists of foliose lichens that typically grows as
epiphyte
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
s, and less frequently on logs or mossy rocks. They are green when wet, drying out to a pale greyish colour, and becoming pale yellowish after lengthy storage in a
herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...
.
Pseudocyphella
Pseudocyphellae (singular ''pseudocyphella'') are structures in lichens that appear as tiny pores on the outer surface (the cortex of the lichen. They are caused when there is a break in the cortex of the lichen, and the medullary hyphae extend t ...
e (pores for air exchange) and soredia are absent; isidia or phyllidia and lobules are often present, and are usually found at the margins of the lobes. The apothecia are cup-shaped and
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 ...
green alga
The green algae (singular: green alga) are a group consisting of the Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister which contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/Streptophyta. The land plants (Embryophytes) have emerged deep in the Charophyte alga as ...
l genus ''
Dictyochloropsis
''Dictyochloropsis'' is a genus of unicellular green alga of the phylum Chlorophyta. This genus consists of free-living algae which have a reticulate (net-like) chloroplast that varies slightly in morphology between species, and that when mature a ...
''.
Secondary compounds
Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved in the norma ...