Lichen

Lichens are symbiotic organisms made up by the association of microscopic green algae or cyanobacteria and filamentous fungi. Lichens take the external shape of the fungal partner and hence are named based on the fungus.

Lichens (IPA: /ˈlaɪkən/)[1] are symbiotic associations of a fungus (the mycobiont) with a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont also known as the phycobiont) that can produce food for the lichen from sunlight.

lichen
plant composed of a chlorophyll-bearing alga and a fungus living together symbiotically
Source: Noland, George B. 1983. General Biology, 11th Edition. St. Louis, MO. C. V. Mosby ...

WE'RE LIKIN' THE LICHEN
Lichens are special organisms. They are actually two types of organisms in one. Scientists still debate on whether both organisms are helped by teaming up.

Lichens
Lichens are fungi that live in a symbiotic association with an autotrophic green alga or cyanobacterium (the "photobiont") or — in some cases — both.

lichens Autotrophic organisms composed of a fungus (sac or club fungus) and a photosynthetic unicellular organism (e.g., a cyanobacterium or alga) in a symbiotic relationship; ...

lichen
(ly-ken)
An organism formed by the symbiotic association between a fungus and a photosynthetic alga.
life cycle ...

Lichens are a symbiotic association of a fungus and an alga. The alga may be a prokaryotic blue-green alga or a eukaryotic unicellular alga. Lichens, therefore, do not belong in any one kingdom. Symbiosis means "living together.

Lichens have long been recognized as useful organisms for humans. Certain species of lichen are now recognized as indicators of environmental pollution, other types of lichens have been used to make natural dyes by indigenous poeople, ...

lichen An organism composed of a symbiotic association of an ascomycete fungus with algal or cyanobacterial cells.
lien The spleen.

Cryptogams: nonvascular plants such as lichens and mosses that make up the ground or surface layer of vegetation.

Nostoc punctiforme is a cyano-bacterium that enters into symbiotic associations with fungi and lichens; these relationships are relevant to carbon cycling and sequestration in tundra.

In England before the Industrial Revolution trees are often covered with light colored lichens. As a result light moths were favored because they were hard to see on the bark of trees whereas the dark moths were easy to see; birds ate the dark moths.

FROHSE and FRÄNKEL: Die Muskeln des Menschlichen Beines; Die Muskeln des Menschlichen Armes, Handbuch der Anatomie des Menschen, von Bardeleben, Bd. ii, Abt. ii, Teil 2, A and B.
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HENLE, J.: Handbuch der Systematischen Anatomie des Menschen, 1871-79.

4. (Science: botany) In lichens, a Hardened cup or disk surrounded by a rim and containing the fructification, or asci.
5. The escutcheon or field on which are placed the bearings in coats of arms. Cf. Lozenge.

Over the next 100 years, trees with dark trunks became dominant because lichens have difficulty growing in polluted environments. With a substantial increase in dark trees in urban areas, the dark form of the moth increased in abundance.

tundra -- n. A vast, mostly flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen. The dominant vegetation is low-growing lichens, mosses, and stunted shrubs.

Epilithic: A term for organisms that live attached to rocks.
Latin translation: epi = upon, lith = rock. This term is general to terrestrial and marine habitats, ie. some lichens are epilithic.
Epipelagic Zone: see Photic Zone.

See also: Plant, Organ, Species, Life, Lichens