Dufourea (lichen)
Dufourea is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the subfamily Xanthorioideae of the family Teloschistaceae. Taxonomy. The genus was originally circumscribed by Swedish lichenologist Erik Acharius in Johann Albert Luyken's 1809 publication "Tentamen historiae lichenum", although he did not assign any species to the genus. The following year, Acharius included "Dufourea" in his influential work "Lichenographia Universalis" and included six species. Luyken had studied under Acharius in Sweden and had access to Acharius's work before it was published; because his text about the genus is a partial transcription of Acharius's work (and he acknowledged  Acharius), Acharius is credited as the author of the name as well as the description. All six species that Acharius included in "Dufourea" are now classified in different genera. A type species for the genus, "Dufourea flammea", was selected by Giuseppe De Notaris in 1846. The genus was resurrected for use in 2013 following a large-scale molecular phylogenetic analysis of the family Teloschistaceae. "Dufourea" species are grouped in a clade with a sister taxon relationship to genus "Xanthoria". The genus name of "Dufourea" is in honour of Léon Jean Marie (or Jean-Marie Léon) Dufour (1780–1865), who was a  French medical doctor and naturalist. Description. "Dufourea" lichens occur in the Southern Hemisphere, with several species from South Africa and Australia. Most species are foliose (bushy) and relatively large, and lack true rhizines, although some species have short rhizine-like structures. Species. , Species Fungorum accepts 18 species of "Dufourea".