# Gyalectidium puntilloi > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gyalectidium_puntilloi > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gyalectidium_puntilloi.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyalectidium_puntilloi > Source revision: 1336780186 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Species of lichen-forming fungus Gyalectidium puntilloi Scientific classification Kingdom: Fungi Division: Ascomycota Class: Lecanoromycetes Order: Graphidales Family: Gomphillaceae Genus: Gyalectidium Species: G. puntilloi Binomial name Gyalectidium puntilloi Sérusiaux (2001) ***Gyalectidium puntilloi*** is a species of [lichen](/source/Lichen)-forming [fungus](/source/Fungus) in the family [Gomphillaceae](/source/Gomphillaceae).[1] It is a [leaf-dwelling lichen](/source/Foliicolous_lichen) known from southern Europe, including the [Pyrenees](/source/Pyrenees) and southern Italy, where it grows on [boxwood](/source/Boxwood), [ivy](/source/Ivy), and [bay laurel](/source/Bay_laurel) in humid valleys. The species is distinguished by its distinctly segmented [thallus](/source/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 [described](/source/Species_description) as a new species in 2001 by the Belgian lichenologist [Emmanuël Sérusiaux](/source/Emmanu%C3%ABl_S%C3%A9rusiaux). He treated it as the European counterpart of the [neotropical](/source/Neotropical) spoecies *[Gyalectidium areolatum](/source/Gyalectidium_areolatum)*, sharing a strongly [areolate](/source/Glossary_of_lichen_terms#areolate) thallus with large whitish crystalline [areoles](/source/Glossary_of_lichen_terms#areoles) separated by green, crystal-free parts, but differing clearly in [hyphophore](/source/Glossary_of_lichen_terms#hyphophore) form. The species was named for Domenico Puntillo, who collected and provided extensive material from southern Italy.[2] ## Description The [thallus](/source/Thallus) forms rounded to irregular patches about 1–3 mm across and is distinctly areolate, with whitish, flattened, polygonal crystalline clusters separated or surrounded by thin greenish thallus parts.[2] Hyphophores (structure for [asexual reproduction](/source/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, [squamiform](/source/Glossary_of_lichen_terms#squamiform) (scale-shaped), and usually twisted with irregularly [laciniate](/source/Glossary_of_lichen_terms#laciniate) (fringed or cut) margins. The scales measure about 0.05–0.08 mm long and 0.07–0.15 mm broad, and are pale greyish or whitish, sometimes with a bluish tinge at the base. [Apothecia](/source/Apothecia) ([fruiting bodies](/source/Fruiting_bodies)) are very rare, rounded, about 0.1–0.25 mm in diameter, with a pale or brownish [disc](/source/Glossary_of_lichen_terms#disc) and a prominent whitish to grey margin. [Ascospores](/source/Ascospore) were not observed, and [pycnidia](/source/Pycnidia) were not reported.[2] ## Habitat and distribution Ferraro and colleagues reported *Gyalectidium puntilloi* as restricted to Europe, known from both sides of the [Pyrenees](/source/Pyrenees) (France and Spain) and from southern Italy ([Campania](/source/Campania)). In the Pyrenees it grows on leaves of *[Buxus sempervirens](/source/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](/source/Hedera_helix)* and *[Laurus nobilis](/source/Laurus_nobilis)*.[2] It has been included in the [red list](/source/Regional_Red_List) of Italian [epiphytic](/source/Epiphytic) lichens as "[critically endangered](/source/Critically_endangered)".[3] In Italy it was noted as often attacked by the [lichenicolous](/source/Lichenicolous_fungus) (lichen-dwelling) hyphomycete *[Hansfordiellopsis lichenicola](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hansfordiellopsis_lichenicola&action=edit&redlink=1)*, which can affect the condition of the thallus.[2] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-CoL_3HNPD_1-0)** ["*Gyalectidium puntilloi* Sérus"](https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/3HNPD). *[Catalogue of Life](/source/Catalogue_of_Life)*. [Species 2000](/source/Species_2000): Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 1 February 2026. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Ferraro_et_al._2001_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Ferraro_et_al._2001_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Ferraro_et_al._2001_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Ferraro_et_al._2001_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Ferraro_et_al._2001_2-4) Ferraro, Lidia I.; Lücking, Robert; Sérusiaux, Emmanuël (2001). ["A world monograph of the lichen genus *Gyalectidium* (Gomphillaceae)"](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1095-8339.2001.tb01126.x). *Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society*. **137** (3): 311–345. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1095-8339.2001.tb01126.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1095-8339.2001.tb01126.x). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-ITALIC_8.0_3-0)** Nimis, P.L.; Conti, M.; Martellos, S. ["*Gyalectidium puntilloi* Sérus"](https://italic.units.it/index.php?procedure=taxonpage&num=726). *ITALIC 8.0*. Retrieved 1 February 2026. Taxon identifiers Gyalectidium puntilloi Wikidata: Q17388391 Wikispecies: Gyalectidium puntilloi CoL: 3HNPD GBIF: 3419845 IndexFungorum: 489420 MycoBank: 489420 Open Tree of Life: 3784807 SpeciesFungorum: 489420 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gyalectidium puntilloi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyalectidium_puntilloi) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyalectidium_puntilloi?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.