Pin lichen

Calicioid

Unlike the other growth forms detailed here, a calicioid lichen is distinguished by its fruiting bodies rather than its thallus. Members of the order Caliciales (which gives the form its name), they are commonly known as "stubble lichens" or "pin lichens". In these lichens, mature spores build up in a thick layer on the surface of the fruiting bodies. This layer, called a mazaedium, is typically brown or black, and spores are dispersed passively from it. Most calicioid lichens are crustose with tiny stalked fruiting bodies. However, because the fundamental characteristic of a calicioid lichen is the presence of a mazaedium rather than a stalked fruiting body, a handful of fruticose lichens also fall into this category. Calicioid lichens are generally restricted to old-growth forest, and can be used as indicators of the age and quality of such ecosystems.