Acarospora is a genus of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the family Acarosporaceae. Most species in the genus are crustose lichens that grow on rocks in open and arid places all over the world. They may look like a cobblestone road or cracked up old paint, and are commonly called cobblestone lichens or cracked lichens. They usually grow on rock, but some grow on soil (terricolous) or on other lichens. Some species in the genus are fungi that live as parasites on other lichens. Acarospora is a widely distributed genus, with about 128 species according to a 2008 estimate.
Rhizocarpon is a genus of crustose, saxicolous, lecideoid lichens in the family Rhizocarpaceae. The genus is common in arctic-alpine environments, but also occurs throughout temperate, subtropical, and even tropical regions. They are commonly known as map lichens because of the prothallus forming border-like bands between colonies in some species, like the common map lichen.
Sagenidiopsis isidiata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) byssoid lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. Found in tropical montane rainforests throughout Central America, South America, and the Antilles, it was described as new to science in 2011. The lichen is characterised by its cream-coloured to greyish thallus and numerous pseudoisidia, which are small, cylindrical outgrowths on its surface.
Lecanora mugambii is a species of crustose lichen in the family Lecanoraceae. Found in western Kenya, it was described as new to science in 2011.
Lecanora printzenii is a species of crustose lichen in the family Lecanoraceae. Originally found in Spain, it was described as new to science in 2011. It shares several characteristics with lichens of the Lecanora varia group but is differentiated by its unique sequence in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of its DNA and by several distinctive physical characteristics.
Acarospora flavisparsa is a species of lichen in the family Acarosporaceae. Found in Portugal and Spain, it was described as new to science in 2011. The lichen grows on acidic rock walls in inland areas.
Lichens of the Sierra Nevada have been little studied. A lichen is a composite organism consisting of a fungus and a photosynthetic partner growing together in a symbiotic relationship.
Acarospora socialis is a usually bright yellow areolate to squamulose crustose lichen in the family Acarosporaceae that grows up to 10 cm wide, mostly on rock in western North America. It is among the most common lichens in the deserts of Arizona and southern California. It grows on sandstone, intrusive and extrusive igneous rock such as granitics, in all kinds of exposures to sunlight, including vertical rock walls. It is found in North America, including areas of the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert region, to Baja California Sur. It is the most common yellow member of its genus in southwestern North America. It sometimes, but rarely, grows on other soil crusts. It is a pioneer species.
Lecanora muralis(Protoparmeliopsis muralis) is a waxy looking, pale yellowish green crustose lichen that usually grows in rosettes radiating from a center (placodioid) filled with disc-like yellowish-tan fruiting bodies (apothecia). It grows all over the world. It is extremely variable in its characteristics as a single taxon, and may represent a complex of species. The fruiting body parts have rims of tissue similar to that of the main nonfruiting body (thallus), which is called being lecanorine. It is paler and greener than L. mellea, and more yellow than L. sierrae. In California, it may be the most common member of the Lecanora genus found growing on rocks (saxicolous).
Psilolechia lucida is a species of saxicolous lichen in the family Psilolechiaceae. It is widely distributed through the world, where it grows on natural and artificial rocky substrates in the shade, often in sheltered underhangs. It forms a greenish crust on the surface of its substrate.
Trapeliopsis steppica is a species of squamulose lichen in the family Trapeliaceae. It is found in the western United States, where it grows on soil in grassland and in shrub–steppe.
Candelariella aggregata is a species of lichen in the family Candelariaceae. It is found in western North America, Mongolia, and Switzerland where it grows on mosses and plant debris.
Lecanora panticapaensis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Lecanoraceae. It occurs in a single locality in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine, where it grows on the vertical surfaces of black schist beside a river.
Candelariella biatorina is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Candelariaceae. It is characterised by its distinct yellow hue and apothecia that are biatorine in form. The lichen grows on the trunks of various conifer species across the western United States, and in the Russian Far East.
Xanthocarpia erichansenii is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in southwest Greenland, where it grows on loess among mosses.
Caloplaca sterilis is a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen belonging to the family Teloschistaceae, described in 2011. It is primarily found in steppe and sand dune habitats in the Black Sea region, and has been recorded from Bulgaria, Romania, southwest Russia, and Ukraine. Caloplaca sterilis is characterised by tiny squamules/areoles with contrasting pale greyish-green to greenish soredia. It is easily overlooked and challenging to identify when completely sorediate and sterile, especially as its soredia do not contain the typical Sedifolia-grey pigment.
Lecidea lygommella is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Lecideaceae. It spreads up to 7 cm wide with a thin thallus varying in colour from whitish and pale grey to rusty red-brown, featuring areolate surfaces with irregularly shaped areoles. Its fruiting bodies range from slightly embedded to sitting atop the thallus and black, flat to slightly convex apothecial discs. Unlike its lookalike Lecidea lygomma, L. lygommella does not produce any secondary chemicals. It is found in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, where it grows on rocks in alpine areas.
Tetramelas gariwerdensis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Physciaceae, described in 2020. It is found in the Grampian Mountains in western Victoria, Australia.
Buellia eldridgei is a rare species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Caliciaceae, known to occur only in Queensland, Australia.
Rhizocarpon timdalii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Rhizocarpaceae. Identified and described as a new species in 2002, this lichen is characterized by its brown thallus composed of convex areoles. It occurs in Europe and North America.
