Vezdaea

{{Short description|Genus of lichen-forming fungi}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Use Oxford spelling|date=June 2025}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Vezdaea retigera TSB002978.jpg | image_caption = ''Vezdaea retigera'' | display_parents = 3 | grandparent_authority = Lumbsch & Lücking (2016) | parent_authority = Poelt & Vězda ex J.C.David & D.Hawksw. (1991) | taxon = Vezdaea | authority = Tscherm.-Woess & Poelt (1976) | type_species = ''Vezdaea aestivalis'' | type_species_authority = (Ohlert) Tscherm.-Woess & Poelt (1976) | synonyms_ref = <ref name="Species Fungorum synonymy"/> | synonyms = *''Vezdaea'' {{small|Poelt & Döbbeler (1975)}} }}

'''''Vezdaea''''' is a genus of crustose lichens in the monotypic family '''Vezdaeaceae''', which itself is the only taxon in the order '''Vezdaeales'''.<ref name="Wijayawardene et al. 2020"/> The genus was established in 1976 and named after the Czech lichenologist Antonín Vězda for his contributions to lichen science. These lichens form extremely thin crusts that appear as dustings of tiny greenish to grey particles on decaying moss, plant debris, and soil, particularly in metal-enriched environments that other lichens avoid. The genus contains 14 species.

==Taxonomy==

The genus was circumscribed by Elisabeth Tschermak-Woess and Josef Poelt in 1976.<ref name="Tschermak-Woess & Poelt 1976"/> The genus name honours the Czech lichenologist Antonín Vězda (1920–2008).<ref name="Hertel 2012"/>

The family name Vezdaeaceae was originally proposed by Poelt and Vězda in 1981;<ref name="Poelt & Vězda 1981"/> the proposal, however, did not meet the formal requirements of the International Code of Nomenclature: Poelt and Vězda omitted a Latin (or otherwise Code-compliant) description and did not designate the type genus, so under Articles 32.1(c) and 36.1 the name was not validly published.<ref name="IF: Vezdaeaceae"/> The family was later publisher validly by John Charles David and David Hawksworth in 1991.<ref name="David & Hawksworth 1991"/> The order Vezdaeales was published by H. Thorsten Lumbsch and Robert Lücking in 2016 to accommodate the isolate family Vezdaeaceae and its single genus.<ref name="Frey 2016"/>

==Description==

''Vezdaea'' forms an extremely thin crust that appears as a dusting of minute, grain-like greenish to grey particles on its chosen substrate. Each particle is a {{lichengloss|goniocyst}}—a tight ball of algal cells wrapped in a thin fungal jacket—which gives the thallus a powdery look rather than a continuous skin. Colonies may begin hidden under the surface layers of decaying leaves, moss tissue or even beneath the {{lichengloss|cortex}} of other lichens, but they usually break through and develop on the surface as they mature. The photosynthetic partner is from the filamentous green algal genus ''Leptosira''. No specialised vegetative propagules (such as soredia or isidia) have been recorded, and thin-layer chromatography has failed to detect any characteristic lichen products.<ref name="Chambers et al. 2021"/>

The sexual structures are tiny half-sphere to top-shaped apothecia that remain almost invisible when dry in most species. They lack both a true outer wall ({{lichengloss|exciple}}) and the supporting tissue ({{lichengloss|hypothecium}}) found in many lichens, leaving the spore-bearing layer (hymenium) exposed once the apothecia swell with moisture. That layer is threaded with branched paraphyses which can clasp and intertwine around the spore sacs (asci) if well developed. The asci themselves resemble those of genus ''Pertusaria'': eight-spored, cylindrical, with thick walls and a strongly blue staining reaction to potassium iodide except for a tiny apical pore. Their colourless ascospores vary from simple one-celled bodies to multi-septate forms, and may have smooth or slightly warted surfaces. Asexual reproduction is poorly understood; conventional pycnidia have not been seen, but some hyphae bear {{lichengloss|conidiogenous}} cells that bud off colourless, rod-shaped spores.<ref name="Chambers et al. 2021"/>

==Ecology==

Species of ''Vezdaea'' live chiefly on the ground, spreading across thin biological films that coat soil and plant debris. They are especially common on dying or decaying mats of mosses and other bryophytes, on the remains of older lichens, and on assorted microbial biofilms. Field records show a preference for soils enriched with metals—a harsh microhabitat that many competing lichens avoid—while occurrences on tree bark are uncommon.<ref name="Chambers et al. 2021"/> Species of ''Vezdaea'' are also regarded as ephemeral lichens with short life cycles, adapted to disturbed or otherwise dynamic substrata where competition from other lichens is limited.<ref name="Yahr et al. 2024"/>

==Species==

{{As of|2025|June}}, Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) accepts 15 species of ''Vezdaea''.<ref name="CoL_86LZ"/> *''Vezdaea acicularis'' {{au|Coppins (1987)}}<ref name="Coppins 2007"/> *''Vezdaea aestivalis'' {{au|(Ohlert)<ref name="Ohlert 1870"/> Tscherm.-Woess & Poelt (1976)}} *''Vezdaea cobria'' {{au|Giralt, Poelt & Suanjak (1993)}}<ref name="Giralt et al. 1993"/> *''Vezdaea dawsoniae'' {{au|Döbbeler (1979)}}<ref name="Döbbeler 1979"/> *''Vezdaea flava'' {{au|Aptroot & Sparrius (2003)}}<ref name="Aptroot & Sparrius 2003"/> *''Vezdaea foliicola'' {{au|Sérus. (1979)}}<ref name="Sérusiaux 1979"/> *''Vezdaea leprosa'' {{au|(P.James) Vězda (1977)}}<ref name="Poelt & Döbbeler 1977"/> *''Vezdaea obscura'' {{au|Döbbeler (1981)}}<ref name="Döbbeler 1981"/> *''Vezdaea poeltiana'' {{au|S.Y.Kondr., Lőkös, J.P.Halda & Hur (2017)}}<ref name="Kondratyuk et al. 2017"/> *''Vezdaea polyspora'' {{au|Kalb & Vězda (1992)}}<ref name="Kalb & Vězda 1992"/> *''Vezdaea retigera'' {{au|Poelt & Döbbeler (1977)}}<ref name="Poelt & Döbbeler 1977"/> *''Vezdaea rheocarpa'' {{au|Poelt & Döbbeler (1977)}}<ref name="Poelt & Döbbeler 1977"/> *''Vezdaea schuyleriana'' {{au|Lendemer (2011)}}<ref name="Lendemer 2010"/> *''Vezdaea stipitata'' {{au|Poelt & Döbbeler (1977)}}<ref name="Poelt & Döbbeler 1977"/>

==References== {{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="Aptroot & Sparrius 2003">{{cite journal |last1=Aptroot |first1=A. |last2=Sparrius |first2=L.B. |year=2003 |title=New microlichens from Taiwan |journal=Fungal Diversity |volume=14 |pages=1–50}}</ref>

<ref name="Chambers et al. 2021">{{cite book |last1=Chambers |first1=S. |last2=Cannon |first2=P. |last3=Coppins |first3=B. |last4=Simkin |first4=J. |year=2021 |title=Vezdaeales: Vezdaeaceae, including the genus ''Vezdaea'' |series=Revisions of British and Irish Lichens |volume=10 |page=2 |url=https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Vezdaeaceae.pdf}}{{Open access}}</ref>

<ref name="CoL_86LZ">{{Catalogue of Life |id=86LZ |title=''Vezdaea'' |access-date=13 March 2026}}</ref>

<ref name="Coppins 2007">{{cite journal |last=Coppins |first=B.J. |title=The genus ''Vezdaea'' in the British Isles |journal=The Lichenologist |volume=19 |issue=2 |year=2007 |pages=167–176 |doi=10.1017/S0024282987000136}}</ref>

<ref name="David & Hawksworth 1991">{{cite journal |last1=David |first1=J.C |last2=Hawksworth |first2=D.L. |year=1991 |title=Validation of six family names of lichenized ascomycetes |journal=Systema Ascomycetum |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=13–18}}</ref>

<ref name="Döbbeler 1979">{{cite journal |last=Döbbeler |first=P. |year=1979 |title=''Vezdaea dawsoniae'' (Lecanorales) ein neuer Moosbewohner aus Neuguinea |trans-title=''Vezdaea dawsoniae'' (Lecanorales): a new moss-dwelling species from New Guinea |journal=Herzogia |volume=5 |issue=1–2 |pages=95–101 |doi=10.1127/herzogia/5/1979/95 |language=de}}</ref>

<ref name="Döbbeler 1981">{{cite journal |last=Döbbeler |first=P. |year=1981 |title=Moosbewohnende Ascomyceten. V. Die auf Dawsonia vorkommenden Arten der Botanischen Staatssammlung München |trans-title=Moss-inhabiting Ascomycetes. V. The species found on ''Dawsonia'' in the Munich Botanical State Collection |journal=Mitteilungen aus der Botanischen Staatssammlung München |volume=17 |pages=393–473 |language=de}}</ref>

<ref name="Frey 2016">{{cite book |editor-last1=Frey |editor-first1=Wolfgang |last1=Jaklitsch |first1=Walter |last2=Baral |first2=Hans-Otto |last3=Lücking |first3=Robert |author-link4=Helge Thorsten Lumbsch |last4=Lumbsch |first4=H. Thorsten |title=Syllabus of Plant Families: Adolf Engler's Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien |publisher=Gebr. Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, Borntraeger Science Publishers |publication-place=Berlin Stuttgart |volume=1/2 |year=2016 |edition=13 |isbn=978-3-443-01089-8 |oclc=429208213 |pages=118–119}}</ref>

<ref name="Giralt et al. 1993">{{cite journal |last1=Giralt |first1=M. |last2=Poelt |first2=J. |last3=Suanjak |first3=M. |year=1993 |title=Die Flechtengattung ''Vezdaea'' mit ''V. cobria'' spec. nov. |trans-title=The lichen genus ''Vezdaea'', with ''V. cobria'' sp. nov. |journal=Herzogia |volume=9 |issue=3–4 |pages=715–724 |doi=10.1127/herzogia/9/1993/715 |language=de}}</ref>

<ref name="Hertel 2012">{{cite book |author-link=Hannes Hertel |last1=Hertel |first1=Hannes |year=2012 |title=Gattungseponyme bei Flechten und Lichenicolen Pilzen |trans-title=Genus eponyms among lichens and lichenicolous fungi |series=Bibliotheca Lichenologica |volume=107 |publisher=J. Cramer |location=Stuttgart |isbn=978-3-443-58086-5 |page=114 |language=de}}</ref>

<ref name="IF: Vezdaeaceae">{{cite web |title=Record Details: Vezdaeaceae Poelt & Vězda, Biblthca Lichenol. 16: 3 (1981) |url=https://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=81598 |publisher=Index Fungorum |access-date=27 June 2025}}</ref>

<ref name="Kalb & Vězda 1992">{{cite journal |last1=Kalb |first1=K. |last2=Vězda |first2=A. |year=1992 |title=Neue foliicole Flechten I |trans-title=New foliicolous lichens I |journal=Nova Hedwigia |volume=55 |pages=195–209 |language=de}}</ref>

<ref name="Kondratyuk et al. 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Kondratyuk |first1=S.Y. |last2=Lőkös |first2=L. |last3=Halda |first3=J.P. |last4=Roux |first4=C. |last5=Upreti |first5=D.K. |last6=Schumm |first6=F. |last7=Mishra |first7=G.K. |last8=Nayaka |first8=S. |last9=Farkas |first9=E. |last10=Park |first10=J.S. |last11=Lee |first11=B.G. |last12=Liu |first12=D. |last13=Woo |first13=J.-J. |last14=Hur |first14=J.-S. |title=New and noteworthy lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi 6 |journal=Acta Botanica Hungarica |volume=59 |issue=1–2 |year=2017 |doi=10.1556/034.59.2017.1-2.7 |pages=137–260 [208] |url=http://real.mtak.hu/50371/1/034.59.2017.1-2.7.pdf}}</ref>

<ref name="Lendemer 2010">{{cite journal |last=Lendemer |first=J.C. |year=2010 |title=''Vezdaea schuyleriana'' (Vezdaeaceae, Lichenized Ascomycetes), a new species from eastern North America |journal=Notulae Naturae |volume=484 |pages=1–4}}</ref>

<ref name="Ohlert 1870">{{cite journal |last=Ohlert |first=A. |year=1870 |title=Zusammenstellung der Lichenen der Provinz Preussen |trans-title=Compilation of the lichens of the Province of Prussia |journal=Schriften der Königlichen Physikalisch-Ökonomischen Gesellschaft zu Königsberg |volume=11 |pages=1–51 [16] |language=de}}</ref>

<ref name="Poelt & Döbbeler 1977">{{cite journal |last1=Poelt |first1=J. |last2=Döbbeler |first2=P. |title=The genus ''Vezdaea'': a supplement |journal=The Lichenologist |volume=9 |issue=2 |year=1977 |doi=10.1017/S0024282977000280 |pages=169–170}}</ref>

<ref name="Poelt & Vězda 1981">{{cite book |last1=Poelt |first1=J. |last2=Vězda |first2=A. |year=1981 |title=Bestimmungsschlüssel europäischer Flechten. Ergänzungsheft II |trans-title=Identification key to European lichens – Supplement II |series=Bibliotheca Lichenologica |volume=26 |page=3 |location=Vaduz |publisher=J. Cramer |language=de |isbn=978-3-7682-1312-7}}</ref>

<ref name="Sérusiaux 1979">{{cite journal |last=Sérusiaux |first=E. |year=1979 |title=Contribution to the study of lichens from Kivu (Zaïre), Rwanda and Burundi. III. ''Vezdaea'', a new genus for Africa |journal=Mycotaxon |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=135–139 |url=}}</ref>

<ref name="Species Fungorum synonymy">{{cite web |title=Synonymy:''Vezdaea'' Tscherm.-Woess & Poelt, in Brown et al., Lichenology: Progress & Problems: 91 (1976) |url=http://www.speciesfungorum.org/Names/SynSpecies.asp?RecordID=5735 |publisher=Species Fungorum |access-date=17 March 2021}}</ref>

<ref name="Tschermak-Woess & Poelt 1976">{{cite book |last1=Tschermak-Woess |first1=E. |last2=Poelt |first2=J. |year=1976 |chapter=''Vezdaea'', a peculiar lichen genus, and its phycobiont |title=Lichenology: Progress and Problems: Proceedings of an International Symposium Held at the University of Bristol |series=Systematics Association Special Volume |volume=8 |editor-first1=D.H. |editor-last1=Brown |editor-first2=D.L. |editor-last2=Hawksworth |editor-first3=R.H. |editor-last3=Bailey |publisher=Academic Press |location=London and New York |pages=89–105 [91] |isbn=978-0-12-136750-3}}</ref>

<ref name="Wijayawardene et al. 2020">{{cite journal |display-authors=6 |last1=Wijayawardene |first1=Nalin |last2=Hyde |first2=Kevin |first3=Laith Khalil Tawfeeq |last3=Al-Ani |last4=Somayeh |first4=Dolatabadi |last5=Stadler |first5=Marc |last6=Haelewaters |first6=Danny |last7=Tsurykau |first7=Andrei |last8=Mesic |first8=Armin |last9=Navathe |first9=Sudhir |last10=Papp |first10=Viktor |last11=Oliveira Fiuza |first11=Patrícia |last12=Vázquez |first12=Víctor |last13=Gautam |first13=Ajay |last14=Becerra |first14=Alejandra G. |last15=Ekanayaka |first15=Anusha |last16=K.C. |first16=Rajeshkumar |last17=Bezerra |first17=Jadson |last18=Matočec |first18=Neven |last19=Maharachchikumbura |first19=Sajeewa |last20=Suetrong |first20=Satinee |year=2020 |title=Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa |journal=Mycosphere |volume=11 |pages=1060–1456 |doi=10.5943/mycosphere/11/1/8 |doi-access=free |hdl=10481/61998 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name="Yahr et al. 2024">{{cite journal |display-authors=6 |last1=Yahr |first1=Rebecca |last2=Allen |first2=Jessica L. |last3=Atienza |first3=Violeta |last4=Burgartz |first4=Frank |last5=Chrismas |first5=Nathan |last6=Dal Forno |first6=Manuela |last7=Degtjarenko |first7=Polina |last8=Ohmura |first8=Yoshihito |last9=Pérez-Ortega |first9=Sergio |last10=Randlane |first10=Tiina |last11=Reese Næsborg |first11=Rikke |last12=Simijaca-Salcedo |first12=Diego |last13=von Hirschheydt |first13=Gesa |last14=Anderson |first14=Frances |last15=Aptroot |first15=André |last16=Balderas |first16=Eli |last17=Borukhiyah |first17=Niles |last18=Chandler |first18=Amanda M. |last19=Chesa Marro |first19=Maria |last20=Divakar |first20=Pradeep K. |last21=García |first21=Renato Andrés |last22=Herrera-Campos |first22=María de los Ángeles |last23=Howe |first23=Natalie |last24=Joseph |first24=Siljo |last25=Larsen |first25=Elaine M. |last26=Lendemer |first26=James C. |last27=McMullin |first27=R. Troy |last28=Michlig |first28=Andrea |last29=Moncada |first29=Bibiana |last30=Paulsen |first30=Julianna |last31=Roa-García |first31=Francibelk |last32=Rosentreter |first32=Roger |last33=Scheidegger |first33=Christoph |last34=Sparrius |first34=Laurens B. |last35=Stone |first35=Daphne Fisher |year=2024 |title=Red Listing lichenized fungi: best practices and future prospects |journal=The Lichenologist |volume=56 |pages=345–362 |doi=10.1017/S0024282924000355|hdl=10550/109919 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

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{{Taxonbar |from1=Q10714756 |from2=Q31699 |from3=Q28872088}}

Category:Pezizomycotina Category:Ascomycota genera Category:Lichen genera Category:Taxa described in 1976 Category:Taxa named by Josef Poelt Category:Taxa named by Elisabeth Tschermak-Woess