Stats

Lifespan: Decades
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: The Americas
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Spores
Defense: Warning colors
Status: Common

About

This bright orange lichen grows in flat, leafy clusters on tree bark across the Americas. It produces specialized spores inside tiny, cup-shaped structures that launch into the air.

Life cycle

1.
spore
A microscopic spore drifts on air or water and germinates where moisture and substrate meet.
2.
mycelium
A thread-like mycelium spreads through the substrate, breaking it down into nutrients.
3.
fruiting body
A mature fruiting body emerges to release the next generation of spores.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Teloschistales
Family: Teloschistaceae
Genus: Xanthomendoza