# Ramalea

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ramalea
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ramalea.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramalea
> Source revision: 1354894393
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

***Ramalea*** is a [genus](/source/Genus) of [lichen](/source/Lichen)-forming [fungi](/source/Fungi) of uncertain [familial](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) placement in the order [Lecanorales](/source/Lecanorales).[1] It has three species.[2]

## Taxonomy

The genus was [circumscribed](/source/Circumscription_(taxonomy)) by the Finnish lichenologist [William Nylander](/source/William_Nylander_(botanist)) in 1866, with *[Ramalea tribulosa](/source/Ramalea_tribulosa)* assigned as the [type species](/source/Type_species). The [type specimen](/source/Type_(biology)) of this species was collected by [August von Krempelhuber](/source/August_von_Krempelhuber) in Cuba.[3]

The [taxonomic](/source/Taxonomy_(biology)) placement of *Ramalea* has been a subject of debate since its original description. Nylander initially considered it as an intermediate between the genera *[Cladonia](/source/Cladonia)* and *[Ramalina](/source/Ramalina)*, tentatively classifying it within what he termed 'tribus Ramalinei'.[4] Subsequent lichenologists offered varying perspectives on its classification. [Vainio](/source/Edvard_August_Vainio), in 1887 and 1894, excluded *Ramalea* from *Cladonia*, but included the species *C. coilophylla*.[4] In 1896, [Müller](/source/Johannes_M%C3%BCller_Argoviensis) expanded the genus by introducing the Australasian [endemic](/source/Endemism) species *R. cochleata*, drawing comparisons to *[Cladonia papillaria](/source/Cladonia_papillaria)*.[4]

More recent taxonomic treatments have continued to grapple with the placement of *Ramalea*. Some authors proposed its inclusion in the [Cladoniaceae](/source/Cladoniaceae) close to *Cladonia*.[4] However, [Ahti](/source/Teuvo_Ahti) (1993) did not include *Ramalea* in his list of names in the Cladoniaceae, and later suggested that *R. cochleata* might be excluded from *Ramalea* [sensu stricto](/source/Sensu_stricto).[4] Historically, the genus has indeed been included in the [Cladoniaceae](/source/Cladoniaceae).[5]

In 2003, based on morphological and anatomical studies, Hammer proposed the creation of a new genus, *[Notocladonia](/source/Notocladonia)*, to accommodate *R. cochleata* and a newly described species, *N. undulata*. This reclassification placed *Notocladonia* within the Cladoniaceae, while suggesting that the remaining *Ramalea* species should be excluded from this family.[4] The Australasian species once called *Ramalea cochleata* is now *[Notocladonia cochleata](/source/Notocladonia_cochleata)*,[6] after having been transferred to *[Notocladonia](/source/Notocladonia)* in 2003.[4]

In 2023, [molecular phylogenetics](/source/Molecular_phylogenetics) research was published that showed the genus probably belongs to the family [Ramalinaceae](/source/Ramalinaceae), based on analysis of recent collections of *R. coilophylla* from its [type locality](/source/Type_locality_(biology)) in Brazil.[7]

## Species

[Species Fungorum](/source/Species_Fungorum) (in the [Catalogue of Life](/source/Catalogue_of_Life)) accepts three species of *Ramalea*:[2]

- *[Ramalea coilophylla](/source/Ramalea_coilophylla)*
- *[Ramalea myriocladella](/source/Ramalea_myriocladella)*
- *[Ramalea tribulosa](/source/Ramalea_tribulosa)*

## References

1. Wijayawardene, N.N.; Hyde, K.D.; Dai, D.Q.; Sánchez-García, M.; Goto, B.T.; Saxena, R.K. et al. (2022). ["Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa – 2021"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358798332). *Mycosphere*. **13** (1): 53–453 [153]. [doi:10.5943/mycosphere/13/1/2](https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/13/1/2). [hdl:1854/LU-8754813](https://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8754813)

1. Nylander, W. (1866). ["Collectio lichenum ex insula Cuba"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57126) (in Latin). *Flora (Regensburg)*. **49**: 289–295.

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]

1. Ahti, Teuvo (2000). *Cladoniaceae*. Vol. 78. Flora Neotropica Monogr. New York Botanical Garden Press. p. 348. [JSTOR 4393890](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4393890)

1. ["Record Details: *Ramalea cochleata* Müll. Arg., Bull. Herb. Boissier 4: 88 (1896)"](https://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=403638). [Index Fungorum](/source/Index_Fungorum). Retrieved 30 August 2024.

1. Aptroot, André; dos Santos, Lidiane Alves; Fraga Junior, Carlos Augusto Vidigal; da Silva Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia (2023). "*Ramalea* and the new genus *Appressodiscus* belong in the Ramalinaceae". *The Bryologist*. **126** (3): 360–366. [doi:10.1639/0007-2745-126.3.360](https://doi.org/10.1639/0007-2745-126.3.360)

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