Specimen image via iDigBio · BY-SA
Peccania
Sign in to savePeccania is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Phylliscaceae. These lichens are small and form thin, crusty patches or tiny scale-like structures that are tightly attached to rock surfaces. They partner with blue-green bacteria instead of the green algae found in most other lichens, which helps them survive in harsh, drought-prone environments and quickly resume photosynthesis after wetting. Peccania species grow exclusively on rocks, favouring well-lit locations on both limestone and acidic substrates in arid and semi-arid regions, though they can also occupy locally dry spots in o
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 79
- With media
- 41
- Family
- Lichinaceae
- Collections
- US, COLO, UC, BRY, SRP, ASU
- Recorded in
- United States, Mexico, France, Australia, Switzerland
~4 min read
Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Description
- Habitat and distribution
- Species
- References
Peccania is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Phylliscaceae. These lichens are small and form thin, crusty patches or tiny scale-like structures that are tightly attached to rock surfaces. They partner with blue-green bacteria instead of the green algae found in most other lichens, which helps them survive in harsh, drought-prone environments and quickly resume photosynthesis after wetting. Peccania species grow exclusively on rocks, favouring well-lit locations on both limestone and acidic substrates in arid and semi-arid regions, though they can also occupy locally dry spots in otherwise humid landscapes. The genus includes about 22 species distributed worldwide, with their small fruiting bodies appearing as tiny -like structures that are often slightly sunken into the thallus surface.
==Taxonomy==
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Peccania” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.