Frigidopyrenia

Frigidopyrenia is a fungal genus in the family Xanthopyreniaceae. It is a monospecific genus, containing the single species Frigidopyrenia bryospila, a subarctic crustose lichen. The species was originally described in 1864 from Arctic Norway but has been moved between various genera over the past 160 years before being placed in its own genus in 2005. Despite its early discovery, Frigidopyrenia remains poorly known and is considered rare in collections, though it may be more widespread than records suggest. The lichen forms tiny dark scales less than half a millimetre across on damp soil, making it easily overlooked in the field. The genus belongs to a lineage of "borderline lichens" within the Dothideomyceta; a 2016 molecular study proposed the order Collemopsidiales for this group....read more on Wikipedia.