What is "parmelia"

Parmelia \Parmelia\ prop. n. The type genus of the Parmeliaceae; a large genus of chiefly alpine foliaceous lichens.

Syn: genus Parmelia.

Usnic \Us"nic\, a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a complex acid obtained, as a yellow crystalline substance, from certain genera of lichens ( Usnea, Parmelia, etc.).

Parmelia is a genus of medium to large foliose lichens. The ends of the leaf-like lobes are often squarish-tipped. The upper surface is pale bluish-gray to light brown in direct sunlight, with a network web-like ridges and depressions. The lower surface is black and has rhizenes anchoring it to the substrate.

It has a global distribution, extending from the Arctic to the Antarctic continent but concentrated in temperate regions. 125 species have been recorded on the Indian sub-continent. Depending on whether the circumscription of the genus is considered in the narrow sense (sensu strico) or the broad sense (sensu lato), there are between 50 and 1322 species worldwide. It is a foliaceous lichen, resembling a leaf in shape. In recent years, the genus Parmelia has been divided into a number of smaller genera according to thallus morphology.

Parmelia may refer to:

• Parmelia (barque), the barque in which were transported the first settlers of the British colony of Western Australia in 1829
• Parmelia (lichen), a large genus of lichens with global distribution
• Parmelia, Western Australia, a suburb of Kwinana, Western Australia