# Notocladonia

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***Notocladonia*** is a [genus](/source/Genus) of two [Australasian](/source/Australasia) species of [lichen](/source/Lichen)-forming [fungi](/source/Fungi) in the family [Cladoniaceae](/source/Cladoniaceae).[1] The genus was established in 2003 by Samuel Hammer to accommodate Australasian species previously misplaced in the [neotropical](/source/Neotropical) genus *[Ramalea](/source/Ramalea)*. *Notocladonia* species are distinguished by their spore-bearing discs ([apothecia](/source/Apothecia)) that form at the tips of scale-like lobes or short stalks, rather than beneath the [thallus](/source/Thallus) as in *Ramalea*. Both species occur in [temperate](/source/Temperate) regions of southeastern Australia and New Zealand, typically growing on thin soils in open habitats.

## Taxonomy

*Notocladonia* was introduced by Samuel Hammer in 2003 to resolve long-standing uncertainty over the placement of certain Australasian species that had been sitting uneasily in the mainly [Neotropical](/source/Neotropical) genus *[Ramalea](/source/Ramalea)*. In his revision, Hammer placed the [endemic](/source/Endemism) *Ramalea cochleata* into the new genus as *[Notocladonia cochleata](/source/Notocladonia_cochleata)* and described a second Australasian species, *[N. undulata](/source/Notocladonia_undulata)*; *N. cochleata* was designated the [type species](/source/Type_species). His treatment followed a nineteenth- and twentieth-century debate about whether *Ramalea* belonged within the [Cladoniaceae](/source/Cladoniaceae) at all, a debate that various authors addressed with differing conclusions.[2]

Hammer argued that *Ramalea* in the strict sense (*[sensu stricto](/source/Sensu_stricto)*) is distinct from *Notocladonia* and should be excluded from the Cladoniaceae. The key practical difference he drew is where and how the spore-bearing discs ([apothecia](/source/Apothecia)) develop: in *Notocladonia* they form at the tips of the squamules or short podetia (like other Cladoniaceae) whereas in *Ramalea* the apothecia occur beneath the lichenised squamules and mature into a peculiar flattened, "butterfly-like" shape. To stabilise usage of *Ramalea*, he also designated a [lectotype](/source/Lectotype) for its type species, *R. tribulosa*.[2]

In discussing relationships within the family, Hammer noted [morphological](/source/Morphology_(biology)) and chemical affinities between *Notocladonia* and the Australasian genus *[Cladia](/source/Cladia)* (e.g., similar branching and [divaricatic acid](/source/Divaricatic_acid) chemistry), and suggested that such patterns point to a Southern Hemisphere focus of diversity in the Cladoniaceae. The name itself reflects this geography: *noto-* from Greek for "southern".[2]

A five-locus phylogeny of Cladoniaceae places *Notocladonia* (sampled as *N. cochleata*) in a [clade](/source/Clade) with *[Thysanothecium](/source/Thysanothecium)* within an expanded *[Cladia](/source/Cladia)* lineage. To resolve [paraphyly](/source/Paraphyly) in *Cladia* sensu lato (in the broad sense), the study segregated *[Pulchrocladia](/source/Pulchrocladia)* and *[Rexiella](/source/Rexiella)* from *Cladia*, while retaining *Notocladonia* and *Thysanothecium* as separate genera based on their contrasting morphology (presence of a squamulose primary thallus and true podetia). In a single-marker SSU analysis the exact placement of *Notocladonia* was equivocal, but concatenated analyses resolved it within Cladoniaceae.[3]

## Description

*Notocladonia* forms a made of small scale-like lobes () that are often blistered () or shingled and may stand somewhat erect. The upper surface is (with a firm outer skin), while the underside lacks [rhizines](/source/Rhizine) (root-like attachment filaments) and shows vein-like bands of aggregated [hyphae](/source/Hypha); [soredia](/source/Soredia) (powdery [propagules](/source/Propagule)) are absent. Margins of the squamules commonly put out [podetium](/source/Podetium)-like proliferations: short, stalk-like outgrowths that can develop into the characteristic uprights of the genus. The partner alga is (unicellular [green algae](/source/Green_alga)), and the [thallus](/source/Thallus) contains the [secondary metabolites](/source/Secondary_metabolite) ([lichen products](/source/Lichen_product)) [usnic](/source/Usnic_acid) and [divaricatic acids](/source/Divaricatic_acid).[2]

The podetia (upright outgrowths) range from flattened to tubular. At their tips, the spore-producing tissue ([hymenium](/source/Hymenium)) forms apothecia that are typically wavy or even branching, and these may occur singly or in small clusters; splitting of the apothecial tissue during development is common. A practical way to recognise the genus is that its apothecia are borne at the apices of squamules or podetia, rather than beneath the lichenized squamules as in the superficially similar neotropical genus *Ramalea*.[2]

## Habitat and distribution

*Notocladonia* occurs in [temperate](/source/Temperate) to cool-temperate settings, typically starting on thin soil over organic [substrates](/source/Substrate_(biology)) and later persisting on very shallow mineral soil or exposed [hardpan](/source/Hardpan) in open sites. The genus is Australasian, with records from south-eastern Australia and New Zealand.[2]

## References

1. Hammer, Samuel (2003). "*Notocladonia*, a new genus in the Cladoniaceae". *The Bryologist*. **106** (1): 162–167. [doi:10.1639/0007-2745(2003)106\[0162:NANGIT](https://doi.org/10.1639/0007-2745(2003)106%5B0162:NANGIT%5D2.0.CO;2)2.0.CO;2]. [JSTOR 3244806](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3244806)

1. Stenroos, Soili; Pino-Bodas, Raquel; Hyvönen, Jaakko; Lumbsch, Helge Thorsten; Ahti, Teuvo (2019). ["Phylogeny of the family Cladoniaceae (Lecanoromycetes, Ascomycota) based on sequences of multiple loci"](https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/247495/1/cla.12363.pdf). *Cladistics*. **35** (4): 351–384. [doi:10.1111/cla.12363](https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12363)

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