The Cladoniaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Lecanorales. It is one of the largest families of lichen-forming fungi, with about 560 species distributed amongst 17 genera. The reindeer moss and cup lichens (Cladonia) belong to this family. The latter genus, which comprises about 500 species, forms a major part of the diet of large mammals in taiga and tundra ecosystems. Many Cladoniaceae lichens grow on soil, but others can use decaying wood, tree trunks, and, in a few instances, rocks as their substrate. They grow in places with high humidity, and cannot tolerate aridity.
Eurotiomycetes is a large class of ascomycetes with cleistothecial ascocarps within the subphylum Pezizomycotina, currently containing around 3810 species according to the Catalogue of Life. It is the third largest lichenized class, with more than 1200 lichen species that are mostly bitunicate in the formation of asci. It contains most of the fungi previously known morphologically as "Plectomycetes".
Lecanoromycetes is the largest class of lichenized fungi. It belongs to the subphylum Pezizomycotina in the phylum Ascomycota. The asci of the Lecanoromycetes most often release spores by rostrate dehiscence.
The Chaetothyriales are an order of ascomycetous fungi in the class Eurotiomycetes and within the subclass Chaetothyriomycetidae. The order was circumscribed in 1987 by mycologist Margaret Elizabeth Barr-Bigelow.
The Ostropomycetidae are a subclass of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the class Lecanoromycetes. The subclass was circumscribed in 2004 by Catherine Reeb, François M. Lutzoni, and Claude Roux. It contains ten orders and 36 families.
The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, although its members occur predominantly in temperate regions. Most members are lichens that either live on rock or on bark, but about 40 species are lichenicolous – meaning they are non-lichenised fungi that live on other lichens. Many members of the Teloschistaceae are readily identifiable by their vibrant orange to yellow hue, a result of their frequent anthraquinone content. The presence of these anthraquinone pigments, which confer protection from ultraviolet light, enabled this group to expand from shaded forest habitats to harsher environmental conditions of sunny and arid ecosystems during the Late Cretaceous.
The Pertusariales are an order of fungi in the class Lecanoromycetes, comprising 8 families, 31 genera, and over 600 species, many of which form lichens. This diverse group is characterized by complex taxonomic history and ongoing phylogenetic revisions. Originally proposed by Maurice Choisy in 1949 and later formally published by the lichenologists David L. Hawksworth and Ove Eriksson in 1986, Pertusariales has undergone significant reclassification due to molecular phylogenetics studies. The order includes well-known genera such as Pertusaria and Ochrolechia, as well as families like Megasporaceae and Icmadophilaceae.
The Baeomycetales are an order of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the subclass Ostropomycetidae, in the class Lecanoromycetes. It contains 8 families, 33 genera and about 170 species. As a result of molecular phylogenetics research published in the late 2010s, several orders were folded into the Baeomycetales, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of taxa.
The Graphidaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. The family contains nearly a hundred genera and more than 2000 species. Although the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, most Graphidaceae species occur in tropical regions, and typically grow on bark.
Verrucariales is an order of ascomycetous fungi within the subclass Chaetothyriomycetidae of the class Eurotiomycetes. Although most of the Verrucariales are lichenised, the family Sarcopyreniaceae consists of 11 species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungi.
Fuscideaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Umbilicariales. It contains five genera and about 55 species of crustose lichens.
The Ophioparmaceae are a small family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Umbilicariales. The family was circumscribed in 1988 by lichenologists Roderick Westgarth Rogers and H. Thorsten Lumbsch.
Hypocenomyce is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ophioparmaceae. Species in the genus grow on bark and on wood, especially on burned tree stumps and trunks in coniferous forest. Hypocenomyce lichens are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere.
The Arctomiaceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the Ascomycota, class Baeomycetales. The family was named by Theodor Magnus Fries in 1861, with Arctomia as the type genus. Species in this family are found in arctic and subarctic habitats, usually associated with bryophytes.
The Caliciaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. Although the family has had its classification changed several times throughout its taxonomic history, the use of modern molecular phylogenetic methods have helped to establish its current placement in the order Caliciales. Caliciaceae contains 39 genera and about 670 species. The largest genus is Buellia, with around 300 species; there are more than a dozen genera that contain only a single species.
Trapeliaceae is a family of lichens in the order Baeomycetales. The family contains 12 genera and about 125 species.
Sporastatiaceae is a small family of crustose lichens in the order Rhizocarpales. It contains two genera, Sporastatia and Toensbergia, with a total of five species. Sporastatiaceae was circumscribed in 2013 by Mika Bendiksby and Ernst Timdal.
The Rhizocarpales are an order of lichen-forming fungi in the subclass Lecanoromycetidae of the class Lecanoromycetes. It has two families, Rhizocarpaceae and Sporastatiaceae, which contain mostly crustose lichens.
Sarrameanaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi in the monotypic order Sarrameanales. It contains the genera Loxospora and Sarrameana, the type genus. The genus Chicitaea was proposed in 2024 to contain Loxospora species containing 2'-O-methylperlatolic acid. The family was circumscribed by Josef Hafellner in 1984. The order Sarrameanales was proposed by Brendan Hodkinson and James Lendemer in 2011, as they had noted that previously published large-scale molecular phylogenetic studies had shown that the group of species contained in the family Sarrameanaceae were distinct and separate from the clade containing all of the other orders of the Ostropomycetidae. However, the name Sarrameanales was not validly published according to the rules of botanical nomenclature, because it was not accompanied by a suitable description. Despite this, the order continues to be used in lichenological literature.
Strigulales is an order of lichen-forming fungi in the class Dothideomycetes. It contains two families: Strigulaceae and Tenuitholiascaceae, with a combined total of 115 species. The order was proposed by Robert Lücking, Matthew Nelsen, and Kevin Hyde in 2013. Most species in the order are foliicolous, that is, they grow on plant leaves.
