This is a list of common names of lichen genera. When a

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

for a

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

is the same as the

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

for that genus, it is not included in the following list. This list only includes genera common names that are widely used, as indicated by the common name either appearing in a peer reviewed scientific publication or in a scientifically reliable reference source. A common name for a lichen genus will often uniquely refer to that genus, but not always. Sometimes the same common name may refer to several different genera, which may not be related by sharing common

ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...

. An example is that " wart lichen" refers to at least five different genera in four different

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

.USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Name Search
/ref> Sometimes the same genus may have more than one widely used common name. For example, members of the genus '' Staurothele'' are commonly called " wart lichens", and also " rock pimples". Lichen genus common names my come from the

shape A shape is a graphics, graphical representation of an object's form or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface. It is distinct from other object properties, such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material ...

, color, or other feature of some members of a genus. Other members may not share that trait, but are still referred to by the common name for the genus. For example, '' Caloplaca albovariegata'' is an orange lichen, but it is not orange in color.

Lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

common names In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contras ...

are often the same as the common name of the

they are in, or are a modification of that common name by adding an adjective. But sometimes the parts of a lichen species common name are common names of ''other'' lichen genera. For example, '' Psilolechia lucida'', in the genus '' Psilolechia'', is commonly called "sulphur dust lichen".Sulphur Dust Lichen (Psilolechia lucida), Encyclopedia of Life
/ref> But " sulphur lichen" refers to the genus '' Fulgensia'', and " dust lichen" refers either to the genus '' Chrysothrix'' or the genus ''

Lepraria ''Lepraria'' is a genus of leprose (powdery) crustose lichens that grows on its substrate like patches of granular, caked up, mealy dust grains.A taxonomic revision of the North American species of Lepraria s.l. that produce divaricatic acid, w ...

''. Sulphur Lichen (Fulgensia), Encyclopedia of Life
/ref>Dust Lichen (Chrysothrix), Encyclopedia of Life
/ref>Dust Lichen (Lepraria), Encyclopedia of Life
/ref>

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