''Lecidea'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
crustose
Crustose is a Habit (biology), habit of some types of algae and lichens in which the organism grows tightly appressed to a substrate, forming a biological layer. ''Crustose'' adheres very closely to the Substrate (biology), substrates at all poin ...
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
s with a carbon-black ring or outer margin (
exciple) around the fruiting body disc (
apothecium), usually (or always) found growing on (
saxicolous
This glossary of mycology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to mycology, the study of fungi. Terms in common with other fields, if repeated here, generally focus on their mycology-specific meaning. Related terms can be found ...
) or in (
endolithic
An endolith or endolithic is an organism ( archaeon, bacterium, fungus, lichen, algae, sponge, or amoeba) that is able to acquire the necessary resources for growth in the inner part of a rock, mineral, coral, animal shells, or in the pores bet ...
) rock.
[Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ] Lichens that have such a black exciple are called
lecideine, meaning "like ''Lecidea'', even if they are not in this genus.
[ Members of the genus are commonly called disk lichens or tile lichens.][
]
Selected species
According to the ''Dictionary of the Fungi'' (10th edition, 2008), the widespread genus contains an estimated 427 species.[
* '' Lecidea atrobrunnea''
* '' Lecidea hassei''
* '' Lecidea keimioeensis''
* '' Lecidea laboriosa''
* '' Lecidea lithophila''
]
References
*
Lecideales genera
Lichen genera
Taxa named by Erik Acharius
Taxa described in 1803
{{Lecanoromycetes-stub