Epilichen
| Epilichen | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Rhizocarpales |
| Family: | Rhizocarpaceae |
| Genus: | Epilichen Clem. (1909) |
| Type species | |
| Epilichen scabrosus (Ach.) Clem. (1909) | |
| Species | |
|
E. glauconigellus | |
Epilichen is a small genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Rhizocarpaceae. These parasitic lichens live on other lichens, beginning as thin, crust-like patches that may break into small islands or scales, and in some cases produce no visible body at all except for their reproductive structures. They reproduce through black, disc-shaped fruiting bodies that contain distinctive brown spores with a "doughnut ring" appearance, and can eventually take over the space occupied by their host lichen once it dies.