Summary 5
Introduction 7
Catalogue 13
Polycornum 13
Porina 13
Trichothelium 103
Doubtful Taxa 112
Synonyms 115
Excluded Taxa 130
Bibliography 138

The family Porinaceae (formerly Trichotheliaceae) constitutes a large
group of exclusively lichenized (Trentepohlia as photobiont)
pyrenocarpous fungi. Except a monotypic New Zealand's endemic
Polycornum, two genera are included: (sub)cosmopolitan Porina and
pantropical and southern Palaeotemperate Trichothelium. This
classification of three genera stems from and is supported by the
author's long-term experience extensively studying on the group and
other pyrenocarps. He advocates using a broad concept of the genus
Porina against its splitting into smaller genera, as well as supported
a narrower concept of the genus Trichothelium in his previous
treatments. The different opinions on the genus concept in Porinaceae
are reflected in several checklists and floras. For example,
Pseudosagedia and Zamenhofia are accepted by several authors, but are
listed as synonyms in the catalogue. Porinaceae is one of the two
families of Trichotheliales. Currently the position of the order
within the Ascomycota is unsettled and molecular studies are necessary
to elucidate the relationships to other groups.

The book is a catalogue. The reader should not expect an intriguing
story about a lichen family. A total of 398 taxa and more than 700
synonyms are listed. The catalogue begins with a reasonably short,
comprehensively written introductory chapter. An illustrative table of
countries with ten or more species of Porinaceae recorded is
included. Discrepancy is shown between tropical and temperate
countries (except New Zealand). One may also estimate the knowledge of
the single country lichen floras. The prevailing part of the book is a
list of taxa including their synonyms, alphabetically arranged
distributional data and relevant references. Valuable
nomenclatoric/taxonomic notes are included, and several formal
nomenclatoric changes are suggested. Selected, biogeographically
interesting species are provided with maps of distribution. Lists of
doubtful taxa, synonyms and excluded taxa are treated in separate
parts. Doubtful taxa are prepared in the same way as accepted ones
with the exception of a short comment why each species apparently does
not belong in Porinaceae. Excluded taxa are amended with
references. The bibliography exceeds 450 titles.

Porina used to be a dustbin for other morphologically similar
unrelated pyrenocarpous lichens. Monumental taxonomic and
bibliographic conspectus of (at that time) all known lichens (10
volumes), the ZAHLBRUCKNER's "Catalogus Lichenum Universalis"
(1921­1940) and complementary LAMB's "Index Nominum" (till 1960) have
been out of date for a long time. Many new discoveries have been made,
taxonomy has been rapidly changing and all new knowledge is dispersed
in an endless amount of contributions. The McCarthy's catalogue brings
up-to-date information on the taxonomy, nomenclature and distribution
of Porinaceae, making the group more "easy-to-maintain" and outlining
implicite perspectives for further studies. It is surely a great
relief for many lichenologists potentionally working or just
marginally handling this group. The book may also become a useful tool
for amateur lichenologists, treating Porinaceae in floristic
papers. Hopefully specialists will also follow this meritorious act in
other voluminous groups of lichens.

Despite the rather specialized frame the book may well serve also to
people from other fields of systematic biology, because the
biogeographical aspects are especially worth mentioning.

Zdenìk Palice

Folia Geobotranica 39/2, 2004