Sulzbacheromyces


Sulzbacheromyces is a genus of basidiolichens in the family Lepidostromataceae. The genus is distinguished from the other genera of Lepidostromataceae by having an entirely crustose thallus and from Multiclavula by having a photobiont. The type species grows on soil in the neotropics.

Description

The genus Sulzbacheromyces is characterised by its simple, crustose thallus which lacks any internal differentiation, having neither nor medullary tissue. This thallus structure distinguishes it from the related basidiolichen genus Lepidostroma, which has a thallus.
The reproductive structures are to caloceroid, unbranched, and typically coloured yellow to orange. The internal structure of the basidiomata consists of parallel, thin-walled, occasionally clamped hyphae that form a densely agglutinated central strand and a loosely organized 'medullary' tissue. The fruiting body cortex is distinctly three-layered, composed of a thin, dense, brownish outer layer, a broader, hyaline middle layer with large interspaces, and a thin, dense, pale yellowish inner layer.
The genus forms a symbiotic relationship with green algae. In the type species, S. caatingae, the photobiont belongs to the genus Bracteacoccus, representing the first known occurrence of this typically freshwater algal genus in a lichen symbiosis.

Species