Liceaceae

Liceaceae is a family of slime molds in the phylum Amoebozoa, class Myxogastria, that includes the genus Licea and related genera. Members are myxomycetes that produce small, stalked sporocarps on decaying wood, leaf litter, and other moist substrates in forests and other damp habitats worldwide. The life cycle alternates between a feeding plasmodium and sporangial fruiting bodies; under adverse conditions, plasmodia aggregate to form sporangia which release wind-dispersed spores upon maturation. Sporangia may be operculate or non-operculate, and inside the sporocarp a capillitium of interwoven threads often assists spore dispersal.

Taxonomy and diversity: The family includes several genera, with Licea as the type genus. Traditional classifications placed Liceaceae in the order Liceales within Myxogastria, but molecular studies have revised some relationships within the group, and the exact circumscription of the family can vary among sources.

Ecology and distribution: Liceaceae species are saprotrophic, feeding on microorganisms in decaying plant matter and contributing to decomposition and nutrient cycling. They are cosmopolitan, with higher diversity in moist temperate to tropical forests but able to inhabit a range of moist microhabitats worldwide.