Transdrakea lichens are characterised by their
crustose growth form, meaning they grow closely adhered to their , typically rocks. The
thallus, which is the main body of the lichen, is poorly developed and often inconspicuous. The most prominent features of
Transdrakea are its reproductive structures, the
apothecia. These are small, -shaped fruiting bodies that contain the fungal spores. In
Transdrakea, the apothecia are , which means they have two distinct margins: an inner composed of fungal tissue, and an outer that contains algal cells. The apothecia are typically yellow to orange in colour and can be up to 0.4 mm in diameter. Under a microscope, the internal structure of the apothecia reveals several features. The
hymenium, the spore-producing layer, is relatively thin at 50–60
μm high. The
paraphyses, sterile filaments between the spore-producing cells, are simple or slightly branched at the tips and only slightly enlarged at their apices. The , which are the reproductive spores produced in sacs called
asci, are a key diagnostic feature of
Transdrakea. They are relatively small, typically measuring around 10–11 μm long by 4–5 μm wide. A distinctive characteristic is their very thin
septum, the internal wall that divides the spore into two cells, which is usually only about 1.5 μm thick. Chemically,
Transdrakea lichens contain
anthraquinone pigments, with
parietin being the dominant compound. This places them in what lichenologists refer to as A, a classification based on the proportions of different anthraquinones present in the lichen. ==Species==