Patrick M. McCarthy
Published: 2003
Total Pages: 172
Get eBook
Three families of pyrenocarpous lichens, the Porinaceae, Pyrenulaceae and Verrucariaceae, together comprise at least 10 per cent of all lichenized fungi and variously contribute in a significant way to lichen communities on all substrata and under all climatic conditions. The almost exclusively corticolous Pyrenulaceae, with more than 429 species in 16 genera, are especially numerous and abundant in subtropical and tropical regions while making a far more modest contribution to lichen diversity in cool-temperate and boreal latitudes. By contrast most Verrucariaceae (711 species in 37 genera) are saxicolous in temperate and cooler regions, as well as under hot-arid and subarid conditions. Conversely, diversity of Verrucariaceae is markedly reduced at low latitudes. Tretiach & P. M. McCarthy is validated.