Ochrolechia africana
Videos
Ochrolechia africana, commonly known as the frosty saucer lichen, is a species of crustose and corticolous lichen in the family Ochrolechiaceae. It is a widely distributed species, found in tropical a
Ochrolechia africana Flickr pellaea
UV-illuminated thallus and apothecia of Ochrolechia africana; the yellowish colour results from the fluorescence of lichexanthone.
Lichexanthone
Videos
Lichexanthone is an organic compound in the structural class of chemicals known as xanthones. Lichexanthone was first isolated and identified by Japanese chemists from a species of leafy lichen in the
Ochrolechia africana
…secondary chemicals: the orcinol depsides gyrophoric acid, lecanoric acid, 5-methyl-O-methylhiascic acid, 4,5-di-O-methylhiascic acid, and the xanthone lichexanthone. It is this latter compound that causes the lichen to fluoresce bright yellow when shone with a UV light. The Chinese alpine species Ochrolechia alticola…
Part of a proposed biosynthetic pathway for lichexanthone-type lichen xanthones, depicting an aldol cyclization step followed by a cyclodehydration, which would lead to norlichexanthone.
Parmelina quercina is one of the first lichens from which lichexanthone was isolated.
Minquartia guianensis 1zz