Fascinating Lichens of Sri Lanka

Oblong Proportioned about 1:3-6 with the margins more or less parallel; rectangular but
ends not necessarily squared off
Ovate Egg-shaped with the larger end at the base
Obovate Inversely ovate, with the narrower end at the base
Ostiole A small opening or pore
Papilla (Papillae) Minute protuberance on the surface of a cell
Papillose Having papillae
Perithecium (Perithecia) A globose or flask-shaped fruiting body (ascoma) completely
enclosed with protective sterile tissue and with an opening pore
Photobiont The photosynthetic component in a lichen, either algae in the strict sense
(e.g., green algae) or cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), or both
Squamulose Composed of or characterized by having squamules—an intermediate
growth form between crustose and foliose
Sterile Without sexual reproductive structures
Stratified Differentiated into layers
Subfoliose Almost foliose, pertaining to the overall growth form of a crustose thallus that
has marginal lobes showing some tendency to curve upwards
Thallus (Thalli) The vegetative body consisting of both algal and fungal components, not
differentiated into a stem and leaves
TLC Thin layer chromatography—a technique used to separate chemical compounds
Verrucose Having small rounded processes or ‘ warts’
Verruculose Delicately warted
Podetium (Podetia) The upright, hollow stalk formed by an elongated apothecium
Prothallus A fringe of purely fungal tissue, white, black, or pigmented, usually seen at
the edge of certain crustose lichens, but also visible between the areoles of some lichens
Pruina Powdery frost-like deposit, typically composed of calcium oxalate, sometimes
dead cells, usually white or pale grey, on the surface of many lichens or on their apothecia
Pruinose Having a frosted appearance caused by a deposit of pruina
Pseudocyphella (Pseudocyphellae) A tiny white break or opening in the cortex where
medullary hyphae protrude; it may be round, irregular, angular, or a minuscule pore
Pycnidium (Pycnidia) Minute, flask-shaped, fungal structure producing vegetative
propagules and/or spermatia
Recurved Curved downward or backward
Rhizine Root-like hyphae on the lower side of a foliose lichen thallus
Rosette A flower-like pattern arrayed around a common point of attachment
Sessile Attached directly to the thallus surface without a stalk of any kind
Simple Not divided; unbranched
Soralium (Soralia) An area of the thallus in which the cortex has broken down or cracked
and soredia are produced
Soredium (Soredia) Asexual reproductive structure that is powdery to granular, not
covered with a well-defined cortex, and contains both algal (photobiont) and fungal
(mycobiont) components
Sorediate Having soredia
Spores Microscopic reproductive bodies released from the sporophyte capsule of a moss
or liverwort, or from the apothecia of a lichen
Spot test Tests for colour reactions obtained by applying a liquid chemical reagent to a
lichen
Squamule Small flakes or scales of a lichen, lifting from the substrate, at least at the edges,
often rounded, ear-like, or lobed
178 Fascinating Lichens of Sri Lanka
Fascinating Lichens of Sri Lanka 179