About Protopannaria pezizoides (Weber) P.M.Jørg. & S.Ekman
Protopannaria pezizoides, commonly known as the gray moss-shingle, is a squamulose lichen species belonging to the family Pannariaceae. German botanist Georg Heinrich Weber first provided a scientific description of this species in 1778. It has a long, complex taxonomic history and an extensive list of synonyms. In 2000, Per Magnus Jørgensen and Stefan Ekman transferred the species to the genus Protopannaria, where it was designated as the genus’s type species. This lichen is widespread, with a continental distribution covering Africa, Asia, North America, and Oceania. It grows best in moist or humid conditions, and occurs predominantly on soil and at the bases of trees, and occasionally on rocks, in forested and arctic-alpine environments. Its photosynthetic partner (photobiont) is a member of Nostoc, a genus of cyanobacteria. The species contains no lichen products, and all standard chemical spot tests for it return negative results.
