What does "crustose" mean?

Of a lichen, growing tightly appressed to the substrate.

What is a synonym for "crustose"?

Common synonyms include: foliose.

//ˈkɹʊs.toʊs// adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Adjective

1
Of a lichen, growing tightly appressed to the substrate. not-comparable
"Fruticose lichens drape and tuft; crustose and squamulose lichens creep and seep; foliose lichens layer and flake."

Adjective

1
(of lichens) having a thin crusty thallus that adheres closely to the surface on which it is growing wordnet

"Fruticose lichens drape and tuft; crustose and squamulose lichens creep and seep; foliose lichens layer and flake."

Borrowed from Latin crustōsus (“with a hard crust”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.