Piccolia nannaria

Piccolia nannaria is characterized by its granular and leprose yellow exterior or thallus. Its apothecia, which range in colour from a subtle green to an orange-yellow, are quite tiny, and its asci are polysporous, housing numerous minuscule spherical, colourless ascospores.

The lichen is widespread but uncommon in the coastal plain of southeastern North America, south to Georgia. Its range was later extended after it was recorded as far north as Maryland. In the Delmarva Peninsula, several populations were discovered where the lichen had numerous pycnidia (not previously reported in this species), but lacked apothecia. Although the lichen was previously assumed to be corticolous (bark-dwelling), further collections and additional investigation of previously collected specimens suggests that the species may be lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling), as it appears to be consistently associated and growing over the crustose lichen Pyrrhospora varians, sometimes to the point almost almost completely obscuring the thallus of its putative host. Additional research is needed to firmly establish the ecological preferences of this lichen.

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