{{Short description|Species of lichen-forming fungus}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2026}} {{Speciesbox | image = | image_caption = | taxon = Gyalectidium laciniatum | authority = [[Robert Lücking|Lücking]] (2001) | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 4 | mapframe-coordinates = {{coord|9|47|N|83|51|W}} | mapframe-caption = [[Holotype]]: Orosi Valley, [[Cartago Province]], Costa Rica }}

'''''Gyalectidium laciniatum''''' is a species of [[lichen]] in the family [[Gomphillaceae]].<ref name="CoL_3HNNZ"/> It is a [[foliicolous lichen|leaf-dwelling lichen]] known from Central and South America, including Costa Rica, Bolivia, and Brazil. The species is characterized by its distinctive irregularly fringed or cut reproductive structures that arise from crescent-shaped whitish crystalline bulges on the [[thallus]] surface, giving it an intermediate appearance between related species with simpler and more elaborate scale forms.

==Taxonomy== ''Gyalectidium laciniatum'' was [[species description|described]] as a new species in 2001 by [[Robert Lücking]]. In the original account it was discussed as intermediate between ''[[Gyalectidium verruculosum]]'' and ''[[Gyalectidium eskuchei|G.&nbsp;eskuchei]]'', combining a crescent-shaped crystalline bulge at the base of the {{lichengloss|hyphophore}} scale (as in the former) with a more dissected, irregular scale form that approaches the "{{lichengloss|setose}}" appearance seen in the latter.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/>

==Description== The [[thallus]] forms rounded patches about 2–5&nbsp;mm in diameter. It is finely {{lichengloss|verrucose}} and greenish to greenish gray.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/>

Hyphophores ([[asexual reproduction|asexual reproductive]] structures) are produced on the thallus surface. Their scales are well developed and are usually borne from a crescent-shaped, whitish crystalline bulge. The scales are obliquely oriented and {{lichengloss|laciniate}} (irregularly cut or fringed) or bear irregular lateral projections. They measure about 0.15–0.25&nbsp;mm long and 0.2–0.3&nbsp;mm broad, and are whitish translucent, sometimes slightly orange. The visible surface of the diahyphal mass (the underlying reproductive tissue) is greenish. [[Apothecia]] and [[pycnidia]] have not been reported for this species.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/>

==Habitat and distribution== Ferraro and colleagues reported ''Gyalectidium laciniatum'' only from the [[type (biology)|type]] collection in Costa Rica ([[Cartago Province]], Orosi Valley). It was collected on leaves of trees along a road, and the authors therefore described it as occurring in relatively [[disturbance (ecology)|disturbed]] vegetation. They also noted that ''[[Gyalectidium denticulatum]]'' was found in the same collection.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/> ''Gyalectidium laciniatum'' has since been reported from Bolivia<ref name="Flakus 2013"/> and Brazil.<ref name="Santos et al. 2020"/>

==References== <references>

<ref name="CoL_3HNNZ">{{Catalogue of Life |id=3HNNZ |title=''Gyalectidium laciniatum'' Lücking |access-date=January 27, 2026}}</ref>

<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001">{{cite journal |last1=Ferraro |first1=Lidia I. |last2=Lücking |first2=Robert |last3=Sérusiaux |first3=Emmanuël |year=2001 |title=A world monograph of the lichen genus ''Gyalectidium'' (Gomphillaceae) |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=137 |issue=3 |pages=311–345 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2001.tb01126.x |doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name="Flakus 2013">{{cite journal |last=Flakus |first=Adam |title=Foliicolous lichenized fungi of lowland Amazon forests in Pando, Bolivia |journal=Polish Botanical Journal |volume=58 |issue=2 |year=2013 |doi=10.2478/pbj-2013-0063 |doi-access=free |pages=539–554}}</ref>

<ref name="Santos et al. 2020">{{cite journal |last1=Santos |first1=Viviane M. |last2=da Silva Cáceres |first2=Marcela E. |last3=Lücking |first3=Robert |title=Diversity of foliicolous lichens in isolated montane rainforests (Brejos) of northeastern Brazil and their biogeography in a neotropical context |journal=Ecological Research |volume=35 |issue=1 |year=2020 |doi=10.1111/1440-1703.12071 |pages=182–197}}</ref>

</references>

{{Taxonbar|from=Q21271014}}

[[Category:Gyalectidium|laciniatum]] [[Category:Lichen species]] [[Category:Lichens described in 2001]] [[Category:Lichens of Bolivia]] [[Category:Lichens of Brazil]] [[Category:Lichens of Central America]] [[Category:Taxa named by Robert Lücking]]