Normandina Nyl.
Type : Normandina pulchella (Borrer) Nyl. [=Verrucaria pulchella Borrer]
Description : Thallus crustose to squamulose, layered. Upper cortex pseudoparenchymatous, evanescent, distinct lower cortex lacking. Photobiont green, Nannochloris normandinae. Medulla with mostly globose or ellipsoidal hyphal cells arranged in a net-like structure surrounding groups of photobiont cells. Ascomata and Conidiomata unknown.
Normandina is a monospecific genus included in Ascomycota incertae sedis (Eriksson et al. 2004; Pennycook & Galloway 2004; Eriksson 2005), although Aptroot (1991) considers the genus to belong to the Verrucariaceae, and accepts three species producing perithecia. The production of perithecia in Normandina is thought by most workers to be caused by lichenicolous fungi (see Henssen 1976: 133–134; David & Hawksworth 1989; Eriksson & Hawksworth 1992: 67; Diederich & Sérusiaux 1993) while Aptroot (1991) maintains that perithecia are produced by Normandina. This view is criticised by Eriksson & Hawksworth (1992: 67) who state that Aptroot's evidence is "...only circumstantial... with no illustrations or micrographs showing the continuities of hyphae. No mention is made of the genus Lauderlindsaya J.David & D.Hawksw., described in the Verrucariaceae for the lichenicolous fungus ... As two other lichenicolous fungi also occur on this host, as Lauderlindsaya infections are associated with necrosis of the thallus, and as Lauderlindsaya has been discussed and adopted by other recent workers... we believe any change in interpretation [of Normandina] should await the production of fresh evidence". Nikolaus Hoffmann (1996) in a molecular study using SSU r-DNA sequence data, confirmed Normandina as a sterile ascolichen, and the perithecia found on its squamules as belonging to the lichenicolous ascomycete Lauderlindsaya borreri (see also Hoffmann & De Priest 2000). Normandina pulchella is the host of the lichenicolous fungus Lauderlindsaya (David & Hawksworth 1989; Diederich & Sérusiaux 1993) (q.v.). The photobiont of Normandina was described as Nannochloris normandinae (Tschermak-Woess 1981).
