Micarea melanoprasina

Micarea melanoprasina is a species of lichen-forming fungus in the family Ectolechiaceae. It was described as new to science in 2014 from the tropical island of Réunion (Mascarene archipelago) in the Indian Ocean. The type collection was made in the Réserve naturelle de la Roche Écrite, on the track to the summit, where it grew on the trunk of Acacia heterophylla in montane rainforest at about 1,500 m elevation. On Réunion it has been found at elevations between about 1,400 and 1,900 m, growing on tree trunks and on the branches of shrubs (including Dombeya, Gaertnera, and Chassalia). The lichen forms a pale green body (thallus) up to about 5 cm across, composed of fine, coral-like granules (goniocysts—tiny clusters of algal cells wrapped in fungal hyphae) that grow on a distinctive bluish-black border zone (prothallus). Its fruiting bodies (apothecia) are grey to black, very small (about 0.12–0.15 mm wide), convex, and lack a visible rim. The spores are oval-oblong to slightly club-sh......read more on Wikipedia.