Bryobilimbia


Bryobilimbia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Lecideaceae. It was circumscribed in 2014 by Alan Fryday, Christian Printzen, and Stefan Ekman. The type species is Bryolimbia hypnorum.

Taxonomy

The genus Bryobilimbia was circumscribed in 2014 by Alan Fryday, Christian Printzen, and Stefan Ekman. The research team established this new genus after molecular phylogenetics analysis revealed that several species previously classified within Lecidea and Mycobilimbia formed a distinct evolutionary group separate from either genus. The type species for the genus is Bryobilimbia hypnorum. While superficially similar to some other lichen genera, DNA analysis based on five different genes demonstrated that Bryobilimbia species form a well-supported clade most closely related to genera like Clauzadea, Farnoldia, Lecidoma, and Romjularia, rather than being part of the true family Lecideaceae.
Bryobilimbia was named by combining "bryo-" with "-bilimbia".

Description

Bryobilimbia lichens have a relatively inconspicuous, thin, greyish thallus that sometimes shows brownish tints. Their reproductive structures are dark brown to black, measuring 0.6–1.2 mm across, and can sometimes form clusters that resemble blackberries. The apothecia typically have a flat to convex surface.
A distinctive microscopic feature of Bryobilimbia is the presence of scattered blue-violet in the hymenium that turn green when treated with potassium hydroxide solution. The spores they produce are usually, though occasionally they may have one partition. These spores have a distinctive warty outer layer and are surrounded by a thin gelatinous coat.
The genus can be distinguished from related groups by several characteristics:

Species

, Species Fungorum accept nine species of Bryobilimbia: