Caliciaceae

rdf:langString Caliciaceae

rdf:langString Calicium

rdf:langString Clockwise from upper left: Tholurna dissimilis, which is a rare dwarf fruticose species that often grows in spherical clumps with radially protruding podetia topped by black, mazaedial ascomata; Buellia venusta; Dirinaria confusa; and Amandinea milliaria

rdf:langString Clockwise from upper left: Ciposia wheeleri; Dimelaena thysanota; Pyxine sorediata; and Diploicia canescens

rdf:langString The lecidiene ascomata of the boreal button lichen are carbonized, discoid, and sessile. The mazaediate ascomata of the shrub stubble lichen rest atop short, black stalks.

rdf:langString Amandinea milliaria - Flickr - pellaea.jpg

rdf:langString Buellia disciformis 57239859.png

rdf:langString Buellia venusta - Flickr - pellaea .jpg

rdf:langString Buellia wheeleri - Flickr - pellaea.jpg

rdf:langString Dimelaena thysanota - Flickr - pellaea .jpg

rdf:langString Diploicia canescens 10 oct 2009.jpg

rdf:langString Dirinaria confusa - Flickr - pellaea.jpg

rdf:langString Mustard Lichen .jpg

rdf:langString Shrub Stubble Lichen .jpg

rdf:langString Tholurna dissimilis 239713.jpg

rdf:langString Calicium viride

rdf:langString Genera

rdf:langString *Buelliaceae (Zahlbr. ) *Pyxinaceae (J.W.Griff. & Henfr. )

rdf:langString Caliciaceae

rdf:langString The Caliciaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. Although the family has had its classification changed several times throughout its taxonomic history, the use of modern molecular phylogenetic methods have helped to establish its current placement in the order Caliciales. Caliciaceae contains 36 genera and about 600 species. The largest genus is Buellia, with around 300 species; there are more than a dozen genera that contain only a single species. Most Caliciaceae grow on bark, dead wood, or rocks. Some members of this family, particularly those of the type genus, Calicium, are characterized by the presence of thin-walled and short-lasting asci (spore-bearing cells) and a mazaedium, which is an accumulation of loose, maturing spores covering the surface of the fruiting body. The resulting passive spore dispersal is relatively rare amongst the Ascomycota. The mazaedium, usually black, either sits atop a long thin stalk, or rests on (or is sometimes immersed within) the surface of the lichen substrate. Many other Caliciaceae species generate spores in an apothecium, which typically resembles a flattened black disc. The family contains species with crustose (crusty), foliose (leafy), and, in a few instances, fruticose (shrubby) growth forms. The photobiont partner of Caliciaceae lichens is usually from the green algal genus Trebouxia. Collectively, the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, and can be found on all major land masses. Although the family is best represented in mountainous areas of temperate and tropical regions, a few hardy species can survive the harsh environment offered by Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys by growing in cracks on the surface of rocks. Five Caliciaceae species are included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. Some air pollution-resistant species in the genus Pyxine have been investigated for use as biomonitors of heavy metal pollution. Several fossils of Caliciaceae found as inclusions in amber have been used to evaluate the evolutionary history of the family.