Variospora
Sign in to saveVariospora is a genus of crustose lichens belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. The genus was established in 2013 when DNA studies revealed that many species previously grouped under the traditional large genus Caloplaca actually belonged to distinct evolutionary lineages. These bright orange lichens are distinguished by their variable ascospore shapes—which can be lemon-shaped, hourglass-shaped, or simply divided by a straight partition—and their distinctive purple reaction when tested with potassium hydroxide solution.
Species
GENUS
- KingdomFungi
- PhylumAscomycota
- ClassLecanoromycetes
- OrderTeloschistales
- FamilyTeloschistaceae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 2
- Family
- Teloschistaceae
- Collections
- LD, UPS
- Recorded in
- Italy, Sweden
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
4 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Description
- Species
- References
Variospora is a genus of crustose lichens belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. The genus was established in 2013 when DNA studies revealed that many species previously grouped under the traditional large genus Caloplaca actually belonged to distinct evolutionary lineages. These bright orange lichens are distinguished by their variable ascospore shapes—which can be lemon-shaped, hourglass-shaped, or simply divided by a straight partition—and their distinctive purple reaction when tested with potassium hydroxide solution.
==Taxonomy==
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Variospora” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.