Lichens of Madagascar


Little work has been done on the lichens of Madagascar, so while over 500 species of lichens have been documented, more are expected. Madagascar can be divided into two major habitats that can be associated with lichen distribution. Wet tropical areas of siliceous bedrock make up approximately two-thirds of the country, and are where most of the lichens have been documented. Dry tropical areas of granitic and limestone bedrock make up the other one-third of the country with just over 20 species documented in these habitats. The following table lists the species known from the dry tropical habitats. The majority are corticolous species that grow on the bark of trees or shrubs. A few are saxicolous; species that grow on rocks. The full list of 500 lichens can be found at.
SPECIESTYPE
Canoparmelia quintarigera AptrootCorticolous
Clandestinotrema minutum AptrootCorticolous
Contrictolumina leucostoma Lücking & al.Corticolous
Crespoa inhaminensis Lendemer & B. P. Hodk.Corticolous
Dermatiscum thunbergii Nyl.Saxicolous
Dirina madagascariensis Tehler & al.Corticolous
Dirinaria complicata D. D. AwasthiCorticolous
Glyphis scyphulifera StaigerCorticolous
Isalonactis madagascariensis Ertz. & al.Corticolous
Lecanora helva StizenbCorticolous
Lecanora leprosa FéeCorticolous
Lecanora subflava Tuck.Corticolous
Lecanora tropica Zahlbr.Corticolous
Mycoporum californicum R. C. HarrisCorticolous
Opegrapha varians Vain.Corticolous
Roccella africana Vain.Corticolous
Roccella applanata M. ChoisyCorticolous
Roccella belangeriana D. D. AwasthiCorticolous
Roccella boryi Delise ex FéeCorticolous
Roccella linearis Vain.Corticolous
Roccella montagnei Bél.Corticolous
Sclerophyton madagascariense SparriusCorticolous
Xanthoparmelia subflabellata HaleSaxicolous

While many of the lichens found to date in Madagascar are relatively widespread, tropical species, some are endemic. Isalonactis madagascariensis, for example, is known only from its type locality near Isalo National Park, and new species continue to be found.

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