Phaeophyscia endophoenicea

Phaeophyscia endophoenicea is a foliose (leaf-like) lichen characterised by a heteromerous, dorsiventral thallus that forms orbicular to more commonly irregular rosettes measuring 1–3 cm in width. The thallus is narrow-lobed and closely adnate (tightly attached) to the substrate in the central portion. The lobes are grey to pale brown in specimens exposed to sunlight, typically measuring 1–1.5 mm in width. They appear dull to weakly shiny, lack pruina (a powdery coating), and feature ascending tips. The lobes develop terminal, labriform (lip-shaped) soralia, with laminal (surface) soralia often present as well. The soredia (vegetative reproductive propagules) are frequently yellowish to reddish due to the exposed medulla, appearing farinose (flour-like) in texture, with individual soredia typically less than 40 μm in diameter. The lower surface of the thallus is black and has abundant, black, simple (unbranched) rhizines (root-like structures that anchor the lichen to its substrate). The upper cortex (protective outer layer) is paraplectenchymatous (composed of closely packed fungal cells resembling a cellular tissue) and exceeds 22 μm in thickness. The medulla (inner layer) is characteristically yellow to orange-red in its lower part, though rarely white throughout. …

Phaeophyscia endophoenicea typically occurs on bark substrates, particularly on inclined or slanting trees. Although rare and possibly underreported, it has been found in diverse European regions extending northward into Scandinavia. The first record for the Netherlands was from a slanting willow tree near Haamstede in Zeeland. It is rare in central European Russia, where it occurs primarily in old-growth and relatively undisturbed forests. It has been reported from Bryansk oblast, growing on moss-covered bark of fallen trees in floodplain mixed forests. Within the European part of Russia, it has also been found in Karelia, Leningrad, Mordovia, and Pskov oblasts. In Ukraine, it has been recorded from several regions, including the Carpathian Mountains and Crimea.

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