Cyphellostereum indicum

The species was described in 2023 by Sanjeeva Nayaka and Ambikesh Debnath from collections made in Arunachal Pradesh, a biodiversity‑rich state in the eastern Himalayas.^[2]

The lichen forms solitary, fan‑shaped (flabelliform) fruiting bodies (hymenophores) that are white to cream and borne on a short stalk. Each fan is only a few millimetres across and grows directly from the soil surface (a terricolous habit).^[2]

Microscopically, the fungal partner produces club‑shaped basidia measuring 16.7–20.1 × 2.5–5.5 μm and very small, smooth, thin‑walled basidiospores that are irregular to "pip‑shaped", measuring 3.18–4.9 × 2.06–2.9 μm. The photosynthetic partner (photobiont) is from the filamentous cyanobacterium genus Rhizonema, whose threads are 6–8 × 5.1–6.9 μm. Fungal hyphae loosely envelope each filament rather than forming a tight sheath, and they develop superficial haustoria (minute projections used to draw nutrients from the cyanobacterium). As in many others in the genus, clamp connections are absent.^[2]