A lichen whose fungal partner is a basidiomycete rather than the more common ascomycete fungi.
Combination of 'basidio-' (relating to basidia) and 'lichen.' This specialized term developed in lichenology as researchers discovered that some lichens use basidiomycete fungi instead of the traditional ascomycete partners.
Most lichens are partnerships between algae and ascomycete fungi, but basidiollichens are the rebels—they team up with basidiomycete fungi instead, and scientists created this name to recognize these unusual fungal partnerships.
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