The genus was
circumscribed by
Carl Ludwig von Reichenbach in 1841.
Laurera was traditionally separated from other members of Trypetheliaceae mainly by its (many-celled)
ascospores and by
ascomata (
fruiting bodies) that open through separate, apical
ostioles. More recent
molecular work suggests that these
morphological boundaries do not match evolutionary relationships across the family. Using a two-
locus phylogeny (
mtSSU and
nrLSU) with broad sampling across Trypetheliaceae, Lücking and colleagues (2016) recovered species historically placed in
Laurera within a wider, well-supported
Astrothelium lineage, and treated
Laurera as a synonym of
Astrothelium (along with
Cryptothelium and
Campylothelium). Under this approach, most species once assigned to
Laurera are placed in
Astrothelium, while the former
Laurera purpurina group is recognized in the separate genus
Marcelaria. ==Species==