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Lichenomphalia umbellifera (the "greenpea mushroom lichen") on a mossy rockface along the Maine coast.The fungi in most lichens are members of a group called the cup fungi (Ascomycotina), whose fruiting bodies are usually cup-shaped (or disc-shaped in lichens). A few fungi in the group Basidiomycotina, which includes club fungi and mushrooms, form associations with algae. (Some lichenologists don't consider these to be true lichens.) Their fruiting bodies are little mushrooms or little "clubs."

 

 

 

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Photograph copyright Stephen/Sylvia Sharnoff