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ABSTRACT
The developmental biology of the fungal partner in the lichen genus Cladonia is explored through a study of the ontogeny and morphogenesis of the podetium in C. ochrochlora. The identity of the socalled generative tissue is clarified: the purported sexual nature of this tissue and the podetium is rejected. The architectures of the podetium and scyphus are determined early in ontogeny by processes in which fungal hyphae become oriented into various growth planes and differentiate into medullary layers. Hyphae that subtend the scyphus from the interior of the podetium later thicken into cartilaginous tissue. Although they appear to support the scyphus they are simply the by-products of its development. Developmental patterns in C. ochrochlora are predictive of the morphology of mature podetia. A comparison of ontogenetic processes in various Cladonia species is useful in the systematic analysis of the genus.
