Pycnora

Pycnora
Pycnora xanthococca
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Candelariomycetes
Order:	Candelariales
Family:	Pycnoraceae Bendiksby & Timdal (2013)
Genus:	Pycnora Hafellner (2001)
Type species
Pycnora xanthococca (Sommerf.) Hafellner (2001)
Species
P. praestabilis P. sorophora P. xanthococca

Pycnora is a small genus of lichen-forming fungi in the monotypic family Pycnoraceae. The genus was established in 2001 by the Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner, who named it by combining references to its conspicuous black reproductive structures and its relationship to the lichen genus Lecanora. These wood-dwelling lichens form thin grey crusts on the smooth surfaces of dead wood in cool northern and mountain forests, where they colonise fallen tree trunks and branches that have lost their bark. The genus contains three species and is distinguished by its readily visible black fruiting bodies and the presence of alectorialic acid, a secondary metabolite not found in similar-looking lichens.