The Icmadophilaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Pertusariales. The family was circumscribed in 1993 by the mycologist Dagmar Treibel. It contains 9 genera and 35 species.
Description Icmadophilaceae species are usually crust-like to shrub-like in form. Their partner is , which is crucial for their survival. Their apothecia (fruiiting bodies) are typically in form, meaning they have a light-coloured (not ) margin, and are often pink in colour. Some may have stalk-like structures, referred to as .
Within these reproductive structures, Icmadophilaceae lichens have unbranched filaments called paraphyses, which are amyloid. The asci, or spore sacs, in these lichens are thin-walled and lack a thickened top section (apical ) but have a thin, amyloid cap at their tips. They are typically cylindrical in shape.
Each ascus typically contains eight spores. These spores come in various shapes – ellipsoid, oblong, (spindle-shaped), to cutriform (knife-shaped) – and are clear (hyaline) and non-amyloid. In addition to spore reproduction, Icmadophilaceae lichens can also reproduce asexually through structures called pycnidia, which produce rod-shaped (bacillar), hyaline conidia (asexual spores).
In terms of chemical composition, this family is characterised by a variety of depsides, a type of secondary metabolite (lichen product) commonly found in lichens.
Genera Dibaeis – ca. 14 spp. Endocena – 2 spp. Icmadophila – 4 spp. Knightiellastrum – 1 sp. Pseudobaeomyces – 2 spp. Siphula – 26 spp. Siphulella – 1 sp. Siphulopsis – 1 sp. Thamnolia – 4 spp.
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