Basidiolichen

thumb|Cora glabrata thumb|Lichenomphalia umbellifera thumb|Multiclavula mucida Basidiolichens are lichenized members of the division Basidiomycota within the subkingdom Dikarya of the kingdom Fungi. They form a diverse yet much smaller group of lichens than the far more common ascolichens of the division Ascomycota. Owing to how few described species there are, basidiolichens are generally considered to be poorly researched, and few studies that characterize their natural products exist. Biogeographically, basidiolichen species may be distributed in a cosmopolitan manner or more regionally, ranging from arctic and montane habitats to more temperate and tropical environments. Morphologically, basidiocarp (fruiting body) and thallus (vegetative tissue) structures may vary widely within and between basidiolichen genera.

== Taxonomy == Basidiolichen mycobionts consist of 172 known species (0.9% of the total number of accepted lichen species) across 15 genera, 5 families, and 5 orders within the class Agaricomycetes in the fungal division Basidiomycota. The majority of described basidiolichen mycobionts belong to the genus Cora, followed by the genera Dictyonema and Multiclavula. Other genera include Acantholichen, Arrhenia, Athelia, Athelopsis, Corella, Cyphellostereum, Ertzia, Lepidostroma, Lichenomphalia, Marchandiomphalina, Semiomphalina, and Sulzbacheromyces. The species Marasmiellus affixus is suggested to be yet another lichen-forming basidiomycete, but this has yet to be proven. As a distinction, many basidiomycetes are lichenicolous and exclusively inhabit their host lichens; these interactions, however, are secondary to the mutualistic mycobiont-photobiont interaction that determines more directly whether a lichen is considered an ascolichen or basidiolichen.