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Alectoria (fungus)

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Alectoria
Alectoria sarmentosa
Scientific classification Edit this 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
A. gowardii
A. imshaugii
A. lata
A. mexicana
A. ochroleuca
A. ochroleucoides
A. sarmentosa
A. sorediosa
A. spiculatosa

Alectoria is a genus of fruticose lichens belonging to the family Parmeliaceae.[1]

Taxonomy

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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.[2]

Species

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References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c d 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.
  4. ^ Lumbsch, H.T.; Huhndorf, S.H. (2010). "Notes on ascomycete systematics". Fieldiana Botany. 1: 42–64.
  5. ^ 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.