Specimen image via iDigBio · BY-NC-SA
Polychidium
Sign in to savePolychidium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Massalongiaceae. These lichens form tiny, shrub-like tufts with branching filaments that create woolly cushions on moss-covered rocks and tree twigs. The genus was traditionally thought to include four similar-looking species, but molecular studies revealed that three of these actually belong to a different genus called Leptogidium. Today, Polychidium in the strict sense contains only P. muscicola and three closely related species, found from tropical to subarctic regions worldwide.
Species
GENUS
- KingdomFungi
- PhylumAscomycota
- ClassLecanoromycetes
- OrderPeltigerales
- FamilyMassalongiaceae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 191
- With media
- 56
- Family
- Massalongiaceae
- Collections
- CHSC, F, NY, UCONN, DUKE, EVE
- Recorded in
- United States, Philippines, Estonia, Canada
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Massalongiaceae
Show 6 more facts
- taxon name
- Polychidium
- taxon rank
- genus
- taxonomic type
- Polychidium muscicola
- taxon common name
- Woollybear lichens
- Commons category
- Polychidium
- taxon author citation
- (Ach.) Gray
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~4 min read
Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Description
- Habitat and distribution
- Species
- References
Polychidium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Massalongiaceae. These lichens form tiny, shrub-like tufts with branching filaments that create woolly cushions on moss-covered rocks and tree twigs. The genus was traditionally thought to include four similar-looking species, but molecular studies revealed that three of these actually belong to a different genus called Leptogidium. Today, Polychidium in the strict sense contains only P. muscicola and three closely related species, found from tropical to subarctic regions worldwide.
==Taxonomy==
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Polychidium” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.