''Rimose'' is an

adjective An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...

used to describe a surface that is cracked or fissured.Lichen Glossary, Australian Botanic Garden
The term is often used in describing

crustose Crustose is a Habit (biology), habit of some types of algae and lichens in which the organism grows tightly appressed to a substrate, forming a biological layer. ''Crustose'' adheres very closely to the Substrate (biology), substrates at all poin ...

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 ...

s. A rimose surface of a lichen is sometimes contrasted to the surface being areolate. Areolate is an extreme form of being rimose, where the cracks or fissures are so deep that they create island-like pieces called

areoles In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cacti out of which grow clusters of spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cacti, and identify them as a family distinct from other succulent plants. Gordon Rowley - Wh ...

, which look the "islands" of mud on the surface of a dry lake bed. Rimose and areolate are contrasted with being

verrucose This glossary provides an overview of scientific terminology, terms used in the description of lichens, composite organisms arising from algae or cyanobacteria living symbiosis, symbiotically among Hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species. Er ...

, or "warty". Verrucose surfaces have warty bumps which are distinct, but not separated by cracks. In mycology the term describes mushrooms whose caps crack in a radial pattern, as commonly found in the genera ''

Inocybe ''Inocybe'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi, with over 1,000 species. Its members are mycorrhizal, and some evidence shows that the high degree of speciation is due to adaptation to different trees and possibly also local habitats. Taxonomy ...

'' and ''

Inosperma ''Inosperma'' is a genus of gilled mushroom in the family Inocybaceae. Previously defined as a subgenus within the large genus ''Inocybe'' by Robert Kühner in 1980, these fungi were found to be more distantly related in a 2019 multigene phylogen ...

''. (glossary)

References

{{Reflist Biology terminology English words Lichens