Perithecia are often buried almost completely in the substrate on which the lichen is growing. Pycnidia are reproductive bodies which release conidiospores - spores produced from the end or side of special hyphal filaments called conidiospores. In form, pycnidia look a lot like perithecia. Vegetative Reproductive Bodies - Vegetative reproduction is important to many lichens and has the advantage of dispersing both partners at the same time. Three main types of vegetative reproduction are Isidia, Soredia and Lobules.
Lobules are living lobes which grow on the edges of the thallus of foliose lichens.
They are flat and break off from the thallus for wind or water distribution. Isidia are really very small bits of the top of the thallus. Soredia are small bundles of algal cells in a fungal hyphae mesh. Unlike Isidia, they do not contain any of the cortex. Instead they are more similar to the medulla portion of the thallus with some algal cells included.