Order: Lichinales       Family: Lichinaceae Species: Ephebe lanata Growth type filamentous. Photos: On acidic upland rock. Ballingeary, Cork, SW Ireland. Soft dark-green or black thallus, slightly branched and with much-divided filaments tapering to points. Mat-forming growth. Small, globose apothecia develop from the pycnidia but are rarely formed in Britain and Ireland. Asci are 8-spored, spores 0-1 septate, 11-18 x 3.5-6 µm. Micrograph of thallus structure below. On damp or aquatic rocks in acidic upland areas and in seepage tracks on siliceous rocks and boulders. Chemical reactions negative. Similar: Ephebe hispidula and Cystocoleus ebeneus

Microscope photograph

Ephebe lanata. February and August 2009