Lopadium (lichen)

Lopadium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the monotypic family Lopadiaceae, which is in the order Lecideales. The genus contains 12 species. These lichens form thin, crust-like growths made up of fine granules or tiny scale-like flakes and produce small, stalkless disc-shaped reproductive structures that are distinctly narrowed at the base, giving them a pinched appearance. Distinguished by their unusual spore-producing sacs that contain only a single large ascospore instead of the typical eight, Lopadium species typically colonize decaying plant matter, moss cushions, or bark in cool, humid environments and can be identified microscopically by their unbranched paraphyses with distinctive dark brown swollen tips.