''Sphaerophorus'' a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.[order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...]
Lecanorales
The Lecanorales are an order of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The order contains 26 families, 269 genera, and 5695 species.
Families
* Aphanopsidaceae
* Biatorellaceae
* Brigan ...
.
Members of ''Sphaerophorus'' are
commonly called ball lichens,
Ball Lichen (Sphaerophorus), Encyclopedia of Life
/ref>[USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Name Search]
/ref> coral lichens,[Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ] or tree coral.[
According to the ''Dictionary of the Fungi'' (10th edition, 2008), the widespread genus contains eight species.][
]
References
Lecanorales
Lecanorales genera
Lichen genera
Taxa named by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon
Taxa described in 1794
{{Lecanorales-stub