Lichens, pioneer organisms which are fungal-algal associations, can grow on walls, buildings and historical monuments, forming colourful and strangely shaped mosaics. The three morphological types of lichens: crustose, foliose and fruticose, occur everywhere, even in extreme environments, notably in cold and hot deserts. They colonise rocks rapidly, in a period of 5-20 years or more. Lichens cause the physical and chemical weathering of mineral layers and significantly accelerate the deterioration of stonework. In order to p ro tect historical monuments, the organisms are removed from colonised surfaces and a repression of their development and renewed expansion is undertaken.
Pleurothallidinae with more than 5000 species are the most diverse and numerous group of orchids. This subtribe occurs exclusively in tropical America, with a range extending from Florida and the Caribbean on the north to the northern parts of Argentina on the south. Pleurothallids are predominantly epiphytes growing above 1000 m a.sl. Taxonomical studies reveal new species each year. Herein we propose 5 new species representing Stelis, Lepanthes and Muscarella.
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