Tephromela
| Tephromela | |
|---|---|
| Tephromela atra | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Tephromelataceae |
| Genus: | Tephromela M.Choisy (1929) |
| Type species | |
| Tephromela atra | |
Tephromela is a genus of lichens in the family Tephromelataceae. There are about 50 species in this widespread genus. The genus was established in 1929 by the French lichenologist Maurice Choisy, who separated these species from the broader genus Lecanora based on their distinctive straight asexual spores and dark violet spore-bearing layers. These rock and bark-dwelling lichens are characterized by their white to pale grey crusty growth and black disc-shaped reproductive structures with purple-tinted interiors.