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Mycoporum lacteum
Scientific Name: Mycoporum lacteum
Family: Mycoporaceae
Category: Lichen
Growth: Lichenous
Duration:
Other Names:
Mycoporum lacteum
Mycoporum lacteum is a species of lichen belonging to the family Mycoporaceae. It has no widely recognized common name.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Scientific Name: Mycoporum lacteum (Ach.) R.C. Harris
- Family: Mycoporaceae
- Kingdom: Fungi
- Phylum: Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
- Subphylum: Ascomycotina
- Class: Ascomycetes
- Order: Incerta sedis (of uncertain placement)
- Basionym: Verrucaria stigmatella var. lactea Ach.
- Synonyms:
- Tomasellia lactea (Ach. ex Fe) R.C. Harris
- Tomasellia californica (Zahlbr.) R.C. Harris (for Mycoporum californicum)
- Mycoporellum sparsellum (Nyl.) Müll. Arg.
- Authority: (Ach.) R.C. Harris, 1995
Distribution and Habitat
- Mycoporum lacteum is described as crustose epiphytic, meaning it grows on the surface of other plants, specifically mentioning Pistacia lentiscus (mastic tree) near the coast.
- Specimens have been collected in Escambia County, Florida (Buck 51664).
Ecological Role
- The text suggests Mycoporum lacteum may function as a bark chloroplast parasite, essentially a fungus that lives like a lichen.
Morphological Characteristics
- Spores are described as uniseptated and colorless.
- Ascospore walls are brown at maturity.
Quirky Facts
- One source refers to R.C. Harris's publication on Florida lichens as including "the 10 cent t of the pyrenolichens," a potentially humorous or intriguing typo.
Further Information
- Index Fungorum: http://www.indexfungorum.org/names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=
- Encyclopedia of Life
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