| Alectoria | |
|---|---|
| |
| Alectoria sarmentosa | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Parmeliaceae |
| Genus: | Alectoria Ach. (1809) |
| Type species | |
| Alectoria sarmentosa (Ach.) Ach. (1810) | |
| Species | |
|
A. brodoana | |
Alectoria is a genus of fruticose lichens belonging to the family Parmeliaceae.
Taxonomy
The genus Alectoria was previously placed in the family Alectoriaceae, which was widely accepted as distinct from Parmeliaceae based on differences in reproductive structures such as larger asci, pigmented spores, and distinctive hamathecial characteristics. However, a 1999 molecular phylogenetic study examined the relationship between Alectoriaceae and Parmeliaceae using sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Their analysis included specimens of Alectoria ochroleuca and A. sarmentosa along with various members of the Parmeliaceae. The results showed that Alectoria was derived from within the Parmeliaceae, suggesting the two families should be treated as synonyms. While previous taxonomic work had emphasised differences in ascus structure, spore size, and hamathecial characteristics to justify separating Alectoriaceae, the study concluded that these variations represented extremes within a continuous range of characters found in Parmeliaceae rather than distinct family-level differences. The authors recommended including Alectoria within a broader concept of Parmeliaceae rather than maintaining it in a separate family.
Species
- Alectoria brodoana Essl. (2016) – Mexico
- Alectoria gowardii Lumbsch (2010) – Northwest Territories
- Alectoria imshaugii Brodo & D.Hawksw. (1977)
- Alectoria lata (Taylor) Linds. (1859) – North America; Central America; Asia
- Alectoria mexicana Brodo & D.Hawksw. (1977) – Mexico
- Alectoria ochroleuca (Schrank) A.Massal. (1855)
- Alectoria ochroleucoides Essl. (2016) – Mexico
- Alectoria sarmentosa (Ach.) Ach. (1810)
- Alectoria sorediosa (K.G.W.Lång ex Räs.) McMullin & Lendemer (2016)
- Alectoria spiculatosa Li S.Wang & Xin Y.Wang (2015) – Yunnan, China
Gallery
-
Alectoria imshaugii
-
Alectoria ochroleuca
References
- Lücking, Robert; Hodkinson, Brendan P.; Leavitt, Steven D. (2017). "The 2016 classification of lichenized fungi in the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota–Approaching one thousand genera". The Bryologist. 119 (4): 361–416. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-119.4.361.
- Mattsson, Jan-Eric; Wedin, Mats (1999). "A re-assessment of the family Alectoriaceae". The Lichenologist. 31 (5): 431–440. doi:10.1006/lich.1999.0225.
- ^ Esslinger, T.L. (2016). "Alectoria in Mexico". In Herrera-Campos, Maria; Pérez-Pérez, Rosa Emilia; Nash, Thomas H. III (eds.). Lichens of Mexico. The Parmeliaceae – Keys, distribution and specimen descriptions. Bibliotheca Lichenologica. Vol. 110. Stuttgart: J. Cramer. pp. 69–80. ISBN 978-3-443-58089-6.
- Lumbsch, H.T.; Huhndorf, S.H. (2010). "Notes on ascomycete systematics". Fieldiana Botany. 1: 42–64.
- Wang, Ls; Liu, D.; Shi, H.X.; Zhang, Y.Y.; Ye, X.; Chen, X.L.; Wang, X.Y. (2015). "Alectoria spinosa, a new lichen species from Hengduan Mountains, China". Mycosphere. 6 (2): 159–164. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/6/2/6.