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Pannaria pezizoides

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description Pannaria pezizoides Overview

Pannaria pezizoides is a cyanobacterium-containing lichen currently treated in many sources as Protopannaria pezizoides. It has a brownish, nearly crustose to squamulose thallus and conspicuous brown to reddish-brown apothecia with a persistent granular margin. The species grows on damp mosses or soil, mainly in cool-temperate and montane habitats, and is distributed in temperate regions of both hemispheres. Its dark bluish-brown color when wet reflects its cyanobacterial photobiont.

help Pannaria pezizoides FAQ

Why is Pannaria pezizoides often called Protopannaria pezizoides?

Protopannaria pezizoides is the name currently used by many references, while Pannaria pezizoides is a recognized synonym. The name change reflects its placement in the genus Protopannaria, not a different lichen. [British Lichen Society](https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/resources/species-accounts/protopannaria-pezizoides) [NatureServe](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.125573/Protopannaria_pezizoides)

How do I identify Pannaria pezizoides in the field?

Look for a brown to gray-brown squamulose or nearly crustose thallus and conspicuous orange-brown to dark-brown apothecia with a persistent granular margin. When wet, its cyanobacterium-containing thallus can become very dark bluish brown. [British Lichen Society](https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Pannariaceae.pdf) [Lichen Portal](https://lichenportal.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=176368)

Where does Pannaria pezizoides grow?

It favors damp moss or soil and is often associated with mossy broad-leaved trees or rocks in open, older woodland. Its range includes parts of North America and Europe, although local records can be scattered. [NatureServe](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.125573/Protopannaria_pezizoides) [British Lichen Society](https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Pannariaceae.pdf)

Does Pannaria pezizoides contain algae or cyanobacteria?

It contains the cyanobacterium Nostoc, so it is a cyanolichen rather than a lichen with only a green alga as its photobiont. That partnership helps explain the dark blue-brown appearance reported when the thallus is wet. [British Lichen Society](https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Pannariaceae.pdf)

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