{{Short description|Species of lichen-forming fungus}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use Oxford spelling|date=February 2026}} {{Speciesbox | image = Gyalectidium puntilloi 1618921101.jpg | image_caption = | taxon = Gyalectidium puntilloi | authority = [[Emmanuël Sérusiaux|Sérusiaux]] (2001) | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 4 | mapframe-coordinates = | mapframe-caption = [[Holotype]]: Italy, Campania, Salerno, Morigerati, Gole del Bussento, 100 m }}

'''''Gyalectidium puntilloi''''' is a species of [[lichen]]-forming [[fungus]] in the family [[Gomphillaceae]].<ref name="CoL_3HNPD"/> It is a [[foliicolous lichen|leaf-dwelling lichen]] known from southern Europe, including the [[Pyrenees]] and southern Italy, where it grows on [[boxwood]], [[ivy]], and [[bay laurel]] in humid valleys. The species is distinguished by its distinctly segmented [[thallus]] consisting of whitish polygonal crystalline clusters separated by thin greenish zones, with small twisted scales bearing irregular fringe-like edges developing from the outer margins of these segments.

==Taxonomy== ''Gyalectidium puntilloi'' was [[species description|described]] as a new species in 2001 by the Belgian lichenologist [[Emmanuël Sérusiaux]]. He treated it as the European counterpart of the [[neotropical]] spoecies ''[[Gyalectidium areolatum]]'', sharing a strongly {{lichengloss|areolate}} thallus with large whitish crystalline {{lichengloss|areoles}} separated by green, crystal-free parts, but differing clearly in {{lichengloss|hyphophore}} form. The species was named for Domenico Puntillo, who collected and provided extensive material from southern Italy.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/>

==Description== The [[thallus]] forms rounded to irregular patches about 1–3&nbsp;mm across and is distinctly areolate, with whitish, flattened, polygonal crystalline clusters separated or surrounded by thin greenish thallus parts.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/>

Hyphophores (structure for [[asexual reproduction]]) are located near the edges of the margins. Small scales develop from the outer edges of the crystalline segments. The scales are angled, {{lichengloss|squamiform}} (scale-shaped), and usually twisted with irregularly {{lichengloss|laciniate}} (fringed or cut) margins. The scales measure about 0.05–0.08&nbsp;mm long and 0.07–0.15&nbsp;mm broad, and are pale greyish or whitish, sometimes with a bluish tinge at the base. [[Apothecia]] ([[fruiting bodies]]) are very rare, rounded, about 0.1–0.25&nbsp;mm in diameter, with a pale or brownish {{lichengloss|disc}} and a prominent whitish to grey margin. [[Ascospore]]s were not observed, and [[pycnidia]] were not reported.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/>

==Habitat and distribution== Ferraro and colleagues reported ''Gyalectidium puntilloi'' as restricted to Europe, known from both sides of the [[Pyrenees]] (France and Spain) and from southern Italy ([[Campania]]). In the Pyrenees it grows on leaves of ''[[Buxus sempervirens]]'' and can be locally abundant in small, very humid valleys on the northern side of the range, while in Italy it was reported from a single locality where it is abundant on leaves of ''[[Hedera helix]]'' and ''[[Laurus nobilis]]''.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/> It has been included in the [[Regional Red List|red list]] of Italian [[epiphytic]] lichens as "[[critically endangered]]".<ref name="ITALIC 8.0"/>

In Italy it was noted as often attacked by the [[lichenicolous fungus|lichenicolous]] (lichen-dwelling) hyphomycete ''[[Hansfordiellopsis lichenicola]]'', which can affect the condition of the thallus.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/>

==References== <references>

<ref name="CoL_3HNPD">{{Catalogue of Life |id=3HNPD |title=''Gyalectidium puntilloi'' Sérus. |access-date=February 1, 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="ITALIC 8.0">{{cite web |last1=Nimis |first1=P.L. |last2=Conti |first2=M. |first3=S. |last3=Martellos |title=''Gyalectidium puntilloi'' Sérus. |website=ITALIC 8.0 |url=https://italic.units.it/index.php?procedure=taxonpage&num=726 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref>

</references>

{{Taxonbar|from=Q17388391}}

[[Category:Gyalectidium|puntilloi]] [[Category:Lichen species]] [[Category:Lichens described in 2001]] [[Category:lichens of Southwestern Europe]] [[Category:lichens of Southeastern Europe]] [[Category:Taxa named by Emmanuël Sérusiaux]]