Cyphellostereum indicum

Cyphellostereum indicum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Hygrophoraceae
Genus:	Cyphellostereum
Species:	C. indicum
Binomial name
Cyphellostereum indicum S.Nayaka & A.Debnath (2023)

Cyphellostereum indicum is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling) basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. It forms small, white to cream, fan-shaped fruiting bodies on short stalks that grow from the soil surface. The species was discovered in Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas and was described in 2023.

Taxonomy

The species was described in 2023 by Sanjeeva Nayaka and Ambikesh Debnath from collections made in Arunachal Pradesh, a biodiversity‑rich state in the eastern Himalayas.

Description

The lichen forms solitary, fan‑shaped (flabelliform) fruiting bodies (hymenophores) that are white to cream and borne on a short stalk. Each fan is only a few millimetres across and grows directly from the soil surface (a terricolous habit).

Microscopically, the fungal partner produces club‑shaped basidia measuring 16.7–20.1 × 2.5–5.5 μm and very small, smooth, thin‑walled basidiospores that are irregular to "pip‑shaped", measuring 3.18–4.9 × 2.06–2.9 μm. The photosynthetic partner (photobiont) is from the filamentous cyanobacterium genus Rhizonema, whose threads are 6–8 × 5.1–6.9 μm. Fungal hyphae loosely envelope each filament rather than forming a tight sheath, and they develop superficial haustoria (minute projections used to draw nutrients from the cyanobacterium). As in many others in the genus, clamp connections are absent.