Gyalolechia


Gyalolechia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It contains about 20 species of crustose lichens.

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1852. He included two species: G. bracteata and G. aurea. Although Massalongo did not designate a type species for the genus, Josef Poelt assigned G. aurea to that status in 1965. After Massalongo introduced the monotypic genus Fulgensia in 1853, Gyalolechia fell out of use.
Gyalolechia was resurrected for use by Ulf Arup and colleagues in 2013, as part of a molecular phylogenetics-based restructuring of the Teloschistaceae. Gyalolechia, which is sister to the genus Blastenia, contains most of the species formerly assigned to the genus Fulgensia, the species group centred around the taxon formerly known as Caloplaca flavorubescens, and other species that contain fragilin as the dominant lichen product. Twenty-five species were included in the new circumscription of the genus, but this number has since diminished as several species have been transferred from it to other new genera, including Athallia, Cerothallia, Elenkiniana, Laundonia, Mikhtomia, Opeltia, and Oxneriopsis.

Description

The thallus of Gyalolechia presents as a crust-like structure that can take on various forms, ranging from small scales to resembling leaves. The, or outer layer, of the lichen exhibits several distinct types:
  • False cortex, which resembles a cortex but does not function as one.
  • Cortex consisting of irregular hyphae, characterized by long and narrow cell .
  • cortex, featuring closely packed hyphae.
  • Cortex with arranged hyphae, where the hyphae are oriented at right angles, and the cell lumina are oval or oblong. The cell walls in this type of cortex are weakly gelatinized.
, the reproductive structures of the lichen, start as and may transition into a form. These structures are typically coloured in shades of orange to brownish-orange and contain anthraquinone compounds. The produced by Gyalolechia lichens exhibit variability in shape and structure. They can be, meaning they have a short to long septum. Their walls are thin, and no visible channels are present. Spores can take on fusiform, narrowly to broadly ellipsoid, or pyriform shapes. Occasionally, these spores may exhibit a slight curvature.
The of Gyaloechia are typically orange and can be either unchambered or multi-chambered. The, which are asexual spores produced within pycnidia, range in shape from bacilliform to ellipsoid.

Species

, Species Fungorum includes 18 species in Gyalolechia.
  • Gyalolechia allochroa
  • Gyalolechia bracteata
  • Gyalolechia canariensis
  • Gyalolechia cranfieldii
  • Gyalolechia desertorum
  • Gyalolechia epiphyta
  • Gyalolechia epiplacynthium
  • Gyalolechia farinosa – China
  • Gyalolechia flavovirescens
  • Gyalolechia fruticum – Europe
  • Gyalolechia fulgens
  • Gyalolechia fulgida
  • Gyalolechia klementii
  • Gyalolechia persimilis
  • Gyalolechia pruinosa
  • Gyalolechia pustutata – China
  • Gyalolechia stantonii
  • Gyalolechia stipitata
  • Gyalolechia subbracteata
  • ''Gyalolechia xanthostigmoidea''