Trentepohlia (alga)

Trentepohlia is a genus of filamentous chlorophyte green algae in the family Trentepohliaceae, living free on terrestrial supports such as tree trunks and wet rocks or symbiotically in lichens. The filaments of "Trentepohlia" have a strong orange colour (photograph at right) caused by the presence of large quantities of carotenoid pigments which mask the green of the chlorophyll.
"Trentepohlia" species form associations with fungal hyphae, and are widespread phycobionts in lichens, such as the "secret writing" crustose lichen genera "Graphis", "Graphina", "Gyalecta" and "Opegrapha".
There are about 40 species of "Trentepohlia" mostly distributed in tropical and subtropical areas but several species also occur in temperate environments including Britain and Ireland. The genus is present in almost all continents.