Melanelia Essl. (1978)

Data Set Maintenance: Data set standard item. Data set author(s): Rambold G. Data set not revised; to be published after submission.

Nomenclature: Current taxonomic status: accepted or basionymous. Taxonomic rank: genus. Number of known taxa within this rank: 38. Melanelia. Parmeliaceae Zenker (1827); Lecanorineae; Lecanorales.

Type Information: Type: Melanelia stygia (L.) Essl.

Taxonomic Literature: Elix J.A., Bryologist 96: 359-383 (1993); Esslinger T.L., J. Hattori
Bot. Lab. 42: 1-211 (1977); Esslinger T.L., Mycotaxon 7: 45-54
(1978); Esslinger T.L. in: Nash T.H. III et al. (eds) Lichen Flora of
the Greater Sonoran Desert Region vol. 1, 274-286, Tempe (2002);
Galloway D.J., Flora of New Zealand Lichens: i-lxxiii, 1-662 [270-
272], Wellington (1985); Lumbsch H.T., Kothe H.W., Elix J.A.,
Mycotaxon 33: 447-455 (1988); Poelt J. & Vezda A., Biblioth.
Lichenol. 16: 1-390 [224-235] (1981) - sub Parmelia subg.

Melanoparmelia; Rico V.J. & Manrique E. in: Daniels F.J.A.,

Schulz M. & Peine J. (eds): Flechten Follmann: 301-316, Cologne

(1995); Thell A., Mattsson J.-E. & Kärnefelt I., Cryptog.

Bot. 5: 120-127 (1995).

Biogeography: Checklist records: Austria, Bolivia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, New Guinea, New Zealand, Sonoran Desert, Sweden and Norway, United States and Canada (continental), and Republic of South Africa.

Ecology: Biotroph; lichenized; sometimes bryophytic, lignicolous, or corticolous; substrate non-calciferous.

Lichen Photobionts: Primary photobiont present; chlorococcal. Primary photobiont taxonomy: Asterochloris or Trebouxia (A. Beck 22-05-97); Trebouxiaceae; Trebouxiales, Trebouxiophyceae, Eukariota. Secondary photobiont absent.

Thallus: Foliose, not subdivided parts, lobed. Thallus Outline: Soon disappearing. Upper Surface: Brown; special structures absent or present:; not pseudocyphellate or pseudocyphellate; eciliate; without hairs; not isidate or isidiate; not sorediate or sorediate; not cephalodiate; not lobulate or lobulate; without granules granules, without thalloconidia thalloconidia. Lower Surface: Attached by holdfasts; special structures present:; not pseudocyphellate; not cyphellate; rhizinate; without thalloconidia thalloconidia; not cavernulate; not tomentose.

Reproduction Strategy: Only known as sterile, asexually reproducing form or with sexual (and possible asexual) stages. Ascocarps: Apothecioid, orbicular, forming all across the thallus surface, soon sessile. Margin: Prominent; external filaments absent. Exciple: Grey or white. Periphyses: Absent. Epithecium: Apical cells brown or brownish yellow. Interascal Hyphae: Present, scarcely branched, not or scarcely anastomosed. Hypothecium: White.

Asci: Tholus thickened, amyloid, with non-amyloid wide axial body and divergent amyloid flanks towards apex; dehiscence lecanoralean.

Ascospores: c. 8, 12-16, or 16-32 per ascus, almost globose, broadly ellipsoid, ellipsoid, or ovoid, 8-18.5 µm long, 4-11.5 µm wide, obtuse; septa absent; wall thin, not thickened at the septum, hyaline, in Lugol's Solution negative, wall not ornamented.

Conidiomata: Absent resp. not observed or present; pycnidial; immersed, formed all accross the thallus surface.

Conidia: Fusiform, bifusiform, or bacilliform.

Secondary Metabolites: Present (unidentified brown pigment(s)), of the following substance class(es): orcinol depsides, ß-orcinol depsidones, (higher) aliphatic acids, or (anthra-)quinones.

(report generated 04.Okt.2007)