Anzia


Anzia is a genus of foliose lichens known as black-foam lichens in the large family Parmeliaceae. It was formerly included in the monogeneric family Anziaceae, but this has since been subsumed into the Parmeliaceae.

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed by Ernst Stizenberger in 1862, with Anzia colpodes assigned as the type species. This lichen was originally described as Lichen colpodes by Erik Acharius in 1799. The genus name honours Martino Anzi, an Italian botanist and professor of theology.
In 1932, Yasuhiko Asahina divided the genus into three sections based on the structure of the medulla. When Isao Yoshimura later observed that Anzia japonica had two medulla types in a single species, he combined sections Simplices and Duplices into section Anziae.

Description

Members of Anzia have a foliose growth form, with a thallus that can measure anywhere from wide. The narrow lobes that comprise the thallus are pale greyish white to greyish green in colour. It is one of the only groups in the family not to have eight spores in each ascus, but instead has numerous spores in each ascus. These ascospores are crescent shaped. A characteristic of the genus is the presence of a brown-black or pale brown spongy cushion called a spongiostratum, which covers the lower surface.
Pannoparmelia also has a spongiostratum, but in this genus the asci contain eight ascospores, and the upper cortex is yellow-green.

Distribution

The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, but is concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in Japan. Species of Anzia are typically found at eletvations between in subtropical or temperate latitudes of both hemispheres. They show a strong preference for growing on tree bark, particularly on Pinus, Quercus, and Rhododendron species. In montane and subalpine regions, they can also be found on Abies, Picea, and occasionally on other woody substrates. While most species are epiphytic, some can rarely be found growing on rock surfaces in temperate mountain environments.

Evolutionary history

A fossilized Anzia, Anzia electra, was found in 35–40 Myr-old Baltic amber. Its features suggest that the main distinguishing characteristics in the thallus morphology of section Anzia have been retained for tens of millions of years.

Species

  • Anzia afromontana
  • Anzia americana
  • Anzia centrifuga – Porto Santo, Madeira
  • Anzia colpodes
  • Anzia colpota
  • Anzia electra†
  • Anzia endoflavida
  • Anzia entingiana – New Zealand
  • Anzia flavotenuis – Sri Lanka
  • Anzia formosana
  • Anzia gallowayi – Australia
  • Anzia hypoleucoides
  • Anzia hypomelaena – China
  • Anzia isidiolenta
  • Anzia isidiosa – New Guinea
  • Anzia jamesii
  • Anzia japonica – China; Japan
  • Anzia leucobatoides – China
  • Anzia mahaeliyensis – Sri Lanka
  • Anzia minor
  • Anzia opuntiella – Asia
  • Anzia ornata – Asia; North America
  • Anzia pseudocolpota – China
  • Anzia rhabdorhiza – China
  • Anzia tianjarana – Australia