Glossary

• Ascomata: A structure that produces sexual spores within the ascomycetes. In calicioids, this is inclusive of the tissues forming a stalk for a fruiting body structure. This term is more general than 'apothecium', which is specific to a particular suite of structures.
• Caliciales:
• calicioid: Referring to lichenized and non-lichenized fungal taxa within genera that have members that (1) inhabit sites where competition with other fungi is low (either sites not directly exposed to rain or on young twigs that haven't been much colonized, and (2) form an ascomata that accumulates spores on the upper surface (either forming a true mazaedium, or simply a coating from weakly ejected spores).  The habitat seems bimodal in many ways (very exposed vs not exposed, young twigs vs old trunks large enough to stay dry in portions, but both result in a low competition site.  Genera tend to specialize in one or the other, but most genera include one or more species that inhabit the alternate.  The spore dispersal  pattern suggests use of some particular set of dispersal vectors among all calicioids, though what the vectors are remains unclear.  Historically, there was much discussion of the tendancy toward stalked ascomata being indicative that they were trying to support the spores above a boundary air-layer to increase wind dispersal.  More recently, discussion has turned toward animal vectors such as bird feet and feathers, or arthropods.  Often it seems that the most diversely colonized areas on old tree trunks have a great quantity of old spider webs.
• Capitulum: The 'head' of a calicioid ascomata, inclusive of excipulum and hymenium.
• catenulate: Asci forming in chains...
• Excipulum: Tissues laterally surrounding the spore-producing portion of the ascomata (hymenium). In stalked calicioids, this is equivalent to the outer wall of the capitulum but not the stalk itself, though th tissue structure may be similar and originally are largely continuations of one another.