Melanohalea exasperatula
species of fungus
Melanohalea exasperatula, commonly known as the lustrous camouflage lichen or lustrous brown-shield, is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It has a widespread global distribution and is common in both Europe and northern North America. Its thallus can grow up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter, with marginal lobes up to 5 mm (3⁄16 in) broad. The upper surface is pale olive-green to red-brown, with isidia (propagules of vegetative reproduction) that are unbranched, inflated, and hollow. It can be distinguished from similar species by the shape and structure of these isidia. The lower surface of the thallus is pale tan to pale brown with scattered, pale rhizines. Apothecia (sexual fruiting bodies) are uncommon, while pycnidia (asexual fruiting bodies) and secondary metabolites are not found in this species. The lack of defensive chemicals makes it vulnerable to grazing by slugs and snails. The evolutionary history of M. exasperatula is linked to major climatic events during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs.
Taxonomy
The Finnish lichenologist William Nylander first scientifically described the lichen in 1873, classifying it in the genus Parmelia.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Melanohalea exasperatula” as species of fungus. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of fungus. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1668191. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1873.
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This entry incorporates text from “Melanohalea exasperatula” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.