{{Short description|Genus of lichens}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Use Oxford spelling|date=July 2025}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Protopannaria pezizoides 47153.jpg | image_caption = ''Protopannaria pezizoides'' | taxon = Protopannaria | authority = (Gyeln.) P.M.Jørg. & S.Ekman (2000) | type_species = ''Protopannaria pezizoides'' | type_species_authority = (Weber ex F.H.Wigg.) P.M.Jørg. & S.Ekman (2000) | synonyms = *''Pannaria'' subgen. ''Protopannaria'' {{au|Gyeln.}} | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = ''P. alcicornis''<br/> ''P. austro-orcadensis''<br/> ''P. azorellae''<br/> ''P. campbellensis''<br/> ''P. corticola''<br/> ''P. hilaris''<br/> ''P. pezizoides'' }}
'''''Protopannaria''''' is a genus of seven species of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pannariaceae.<ref name="CoL_63PJZ"/> The genus was elevated from a subgenus of ''Pannaria'' to full genus status in 2000. ''Protopannaria'' lichens typically grow as small, overlapping patches on mossy tree trunks and branches in humid, old-growth forests. The genus is primarily distributed in subantarctic and temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere.
==Taxonomy==
The genus was originally circumscribed as a subgenus of the genus ''Pannaria'' by the Hungarian lichenologist Vilmos Kőfaragó-Gyelnik. Per Magnus Jørgensen and Stefan Ekman promoted ''Protopannaria'' to full status as a genus in 2000.<ref name="Jørgensen 2000"/>
==Description==
''Protopannaria'' species form a small, often overlapping mosaic of scales that ranges from crust-like patches to more distinct {{lichengloss|squamules}}. These units are usually anchored by a blue to blue-black fibrous layer ({{lichengloss|hypothallus}}) that can be visible at the margins. The upper surface varies from greyish blue to deep brown-black and lacks a differentiated {{lichengloss|cortex}}. The fungal hyphae weave among the cells of a blue-green cyanobacterial partner (''Nostoc''), creating a loose to {{lichengloss|pseudoparenchymatous}} texture beneath the surface.<ref name="Cannon et al. 2021"/>
The {{lichengloss|sessile}} fruiting bodies (apothecia) bear red-brown to nearly black {{lichengloss|discs}} and retain a persistent rim of thallus tissue (a {{lichengloss|thalline margin}}). This margin is two-layered: its outer zone consists of tightly packed pseudoparenchymatous cells, while the inner zone is looser and densely infused with {{lichengloss|photobiont}} cells. A pale, thin {{lichengloss|true exciple}} surrounds the hymenium. When treated with iodine, the hymenium stains blackish blue (I+). Each asci produces eight ascospores and belongs to the ''Pannaria'' structural type, lacking any amyloid apical apparatus. The spores are colourless, single-celled and ellipsoidal, often ending in one or two pointed tips and carrying a finely warted outer layer. Asexual reproduction occurs in immersed pycnidia that release straight, rod-shaped conidia. No secondary metabolites (lichen substances) have been detected in the genus by thin-layer chromatography.<ref name="Cannon et al. 2021"/>
==Ecology==
Species of ''Protopannaria'' usually carpet mats of bryophytes that grow on the trunks and branches of damp, broad-leaved trees, especially in lichen-rich ''Lobarion'' communities—humid, old-growth woodland communities dominated by large, foliose cyanobacterial lichens such as ''Lobaria'', ''Pseudocyphellaria'', and related genera. Less often the lichens extend onto nearby rocks where conditions remain persistently cool and wet.<ref name="Cannon et al. 2021"/>
==Species== {{As of|2025|July}}, Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) accept seven species of ''Protopannaria'':<ref name="CoL_63PJZ"/> *''Protopannaria alcicornis'' {{au|P.M.Jørg. & R.S.Poulsen (2001)}}<ref name="Jørgensen 2001"/> *''Protopannaria austro-orcadensis'' {{au|(Øvstedal) P.M.Jørg. (2001)}}<ref name="Jørgensen 2001"/> *''Protopannaria azorellae'' {{au|P.M.Jørg. & R.S.Poulsen (2001)}}<ref name="Jørgensen 2001"/> *''Protopannaria campbellensis'' {{au|Øvstedal & Fryday (2011)}}<ref name="Øvstedal & Fryday 2011"/> *''Protopannaria corticola'' {{au|P.M.Jørg. (2007)}}<ref name="Jørgensen 2007"/> *''Protopannaria hilaris'' {{au|(Zahlbr.) P.M.Jørg. (2004)}}<ref name="Jørgensen 2004"/> *''Protopannaria pezizoides'' {{au|(Weber) P.M.Jørg. & S.Ekman (2000)}}<ref name="Jørgensen 2000"/>
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=
<ref name="Cannon et al. 2021">{{cite book |last1=Cannon |first1=P. |last2=Aptroot |first2=A. |last3=Coppins |first3=B. |last4=Sanderson |first4=N. |last5=Simkin |first5=J. |year=2021 |title=Peltigerales: Pannariaceae, including the genera ''Fuscopannaria'', ''Leptogidium'', ''Nevesia'', ''Pannaria'', ''Parmeliella'', ''Pectenia'', ''Protopannaria'' and ''Psoroma'' |series=Revisions of British and Irish Lichens |volume=9 |page=14 |url=https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Pannariaceae.pdf}}{{Open access}}</ref>
<ref name="CoL_63PJZ">{{Catalogue of Life |id=63PJZ |title=''Protopannaria'' |access-date=14 July 2025}}</ref>
<ref name="Jørgensen 2000">{{cite journal |last=Jørgensen |first=Per M. |title=Survey of the lichen family Pannariaceae on the American continent north of Mexico |journal=The Bryologist |year=2000 |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=670–704 |doi=10.1639/0007-2745(2000)103[0670:SOTLFP]2.0.CO;2}}</ref>
<ref name="Jørgensen 2001">{{cite journal |last=Jørgensen |first=Per M. |year=2001 |title=Studies in the lichen family Pannariaceae X. The lichen genus ''Protopannaria'' in the subantarctic islands |journal=Cryptogamie, Mycologie |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=67–72 |doi=10.1016/S0181-1584(01)01059-4}}</ref>
<ref name="Jørgensen 2004">{{cite journal |last=Jørgensen |first=Per M. |title=Further contributions to the Pannariaceae (lichenized Ascomycetes) of the Southern Hemisphere |journal=Bibliotheca Lichenologica |year=2004 |volume=88 |pages=229–253}}</ref>
<ref name="Jørgensen 2007">{{cite journal |last=Jørgensen |first=Per M. |title=New discoveries in Asian pannariaceous lichens |journal=The Lichenologist |volume=39 |issue=3 |year=2007 |pages=235–243 |doi=10.1017/S0024282907006858 |bibcode=2007ThLic..39..235J }}</ref>
<ref name="Øvstedal & Fryday 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Øvstedal |first1=D.O. |last2=Fryday |first2=A.M. |year=2011 |title=A new species of ''Protopannaria'' (Pannariaceae: Ascomycota) from the southern New Zealand shelf islands, and additional records of ''Protopannaria'' from South America |journal=Australasian Lichenology |volume=68 |pages=12–15 |url=https://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/lichenlist/AL_68.pdf}}</ref>
}}
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Category:Pannariaceae Category:Lichen genera Category:Peltigerales genera Category:Taxa described in 2000 Category:Taxa named by Vilmos Kőfaragó-Gyelnik