# Dirina fallax

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dirina_fallax
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dirina_fallax.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirina_fallax
> Source revision: 1196437530
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

***Dirina fallax*** is a species of [saxicolous](/source/Saxicolous_lichen) (rock-dwelling), [crustose lichen](/source/Crustose_lichen) in the family [Roccellaceae](/source/Roccellaceae). It is found in the western [Mediterranean](/source/Mediterranean_Basin), the Atlantic coasts of both Africa and Europe (extending from Scotland to Morocco), and central Europe, where it grows on [siliceous](/source/Siliceous) and [acidic rocks](/source/Acidic_rock). In 2017, it was reported from the [Abrau Peninsula](/source/Abrau_Peninsula) in Russia.[1]

## Taxonomy

The lichen was first [described scientifically](/source/Species_description) by [Giuseppe De Notaris](/source/Giuseppe_De_Notaris) in 1846, from specimens collected in [Sardinia](/source/Sardinia), Italy.[2] Tehler and colleagues unsuccessfully searched Italian [herbaria](/source/Herbarium) for the [type specimen](/source/Type_(biology)), and therefore assigned a [neotype](/source/Neotype) from a specimen also collected in Sardinia.[3]

## Description

The lichen has a creamy greyish-brown, crustose [thallus](/source/Thallus) with a somewhat roughened surface (0.1–1.5 mm thick), and a white, chalk-like [medulla](/source/Medulla_(lichenology)). When [soralia](/source/Soralia) are present (typically when [apothecia](/source/Apothecia) are absent), they are to . If apothecia are present, they have a circular outline and a diameter of 0.1–2.0 mm; the apothecial is white-grey, , and encircled by a . [Ascospores](/source/Ascospore) measure 18–24 by 5–6 [μm](/source/Micrometre). *Dirina fallax* contains the [lichen products](/source/Lichen_product) [erythrin](/source/Erythrin) and [lecanoric acid](/source/Lecanoric_acid), as well as two unidentified substances. The expected results of chemical [spot tests](/source/Spot_test_(lichen)) are C+ (faint red) on the thallus surface, C− on the medulla, and C+ (red) on the disc.[3]

## References

1. Urbanavichus, G. & Urbanavichene, I. (2017). ["New and noteworthy records of lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi from Abrau Peninsula (NW Caucasus, Russia)"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319879597). *Flora Mediterranea*. **27**: 175–184. [doi:10.7320/flmedit27.175](https://doi.org/10.7320/flmedit27.175)

1. De Notaris, G. (1846). ["Frammenti lichenografici di un lavoro inedito"](https://books.google.com/books?id=PTs-AAAAcAAJ&q=Dirina%20falla&pg=PA189) (in Italian). *Giornale Botanico Italiano*. **2** (1): 174–224 [189]

1. Tehler, Anders; Ertz, Damien; Irestedt, Martin (2013). ["The genus *Dirina* (Roccellaceae, Arthoniales) revisited"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259433780). *The Lichenologist*. **45** (4): 427–476. [doi:10.1017/s0024282913000121](https://doi.org/10.1017/s0024282913000121). [S2CID 85670716](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:85670716)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dirina fallax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirina_fallax) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirina_fallax?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.