Specimen image via iDigBio · CC0
Lempholemma
Sign in to saveLempholemma is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Porocyphaceae. It comprises 14 species of gelatinous lichens that grow on rocks, mortar, bryophytes, or soil. These lichens form thin, often inconspicuous mats that can take various shapes—from wart-like crusts to tiny leaf-shaped scales or delicate tufts—and turn dark blue-green and gelatinous when damp due to their partnership with nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. Established as a genus in 1855 by the German lichenologist Gustav Wilhelm Körber to separate certain gelatinous lichens from the genus Collema, Lempholemma species typicall
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 225
- With media
- 66
- Family
- Lichinaceae
- Collections
- US, FH, COLO, MU, SBBG, DUKE
- Recorded in
- Guyana, France, United States, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, Netherlands
~4 min read
Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Description
- Ecology
- Species
- References
Lempholemma is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Porocyphaceae. It comprises 14 species of gelatinous lichens that grow on rocks, mortar, bryophytes, or soil. These lichens form thin, often inconspicuous mats that can take various shapes—from wart-like crusts to tiny leaf-shaped scales or delicate tufts—and turn dark blue-green and gelatinous when damp due to their partnership with nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. Established as a genus in 1855 by the German lichenologist Gustav Wilhelm Körber to separate certain gelatinous lichens from the genus Collema, Lempholemma species typically colonise alkaline substrates and are distinguished by their simple, non-septate spores and distinctive thallus structure.
==Taxonomy==
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Lempholemma” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.