An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phorophytes. Epiphytes take part in nutrient cycles and add to both the diversity and biomass of the ecosystem in which they occur, like any other organism. They are an important source of food for many species. Typically, the older parts of a plant will have more epiphytes growing on them. Epiphytes differ from parasites in that they grow on other plants for physical support and do not necessarily affect the host negatively. An organism that grows on another organism that is not a plant may be called an epibiont. Epiphytes are usually found in the temperate zone or in the tropics. Epiphyte species make good houseplants due to their minimal water and soil requirements. Epiphytes provide a rich and diverse habitat for other organisms including animals, fungi, bacteria, and myxomycetes.
Erik Acharius was a Swedish botanist who pioneered the taxonomy of lichens and is known as the "father of lichenology." Acharius was famously the last pupil of Carl Linnaeus.
Lithophiles are micro-organisms that can live within the pore interstices of sedimentary and even fractured igneous rocks to depths of several kilometers.
Collema is a genus of lichens in the family Collemataceae. The photobiont is the cyanobacterium genus Nostoc.
The Collemataceae are a lichenized family of fungi in the order Peltigerales. The family contains ten genera and about 325 species. The family has a widespread distribution.
Hypogymnia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. They are commonly known as tube lichens, bone lichens, or pillow lichens. Most species lack rhizines that are otherwise common in members of the Parmeliaceae, and have swollen lobes that are usually hollow. The lichens usually grow on the bark and wood of coniferous trees.
Absconditella is a genus of lichenised fungi in the family Stictidaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1965 by Czech lichenologist Antonín Vězda, with Absconditella sphagnorum assigned as the type species. Absconditella is characterised by gyalectoid apothecia with a hymenium that is not amyloid, without a dark pigment and thalli containing green algae as photobionts. The genus name means "hidden", a reference to the scant structure of the thallus and its small apothecia.
Coccotrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi. It is the type genus of the family Coccotremataceae, in the order Pertusariales. The genus contains 16 species.
Collema tenax is a species of lichen known by the common names jelly lichen, black lichen, and desert lichen. It occurs in Arctic and temperate regions in the Northern Hemisphere. It is very common in North America, and it is present in Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is the most widely distributed Collema.
The wildlife of Antarctica are extremophiles, having to adapt to the dryness, low temperatures, and high exposure common in Antarctica. The extreme weather of the interior contrasts to the relatively mild conditions on the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic islands, which have warmer temperatures and more liquid water. Much of the ocean around the mainland is covered by sea ice. The oceans themselves are a more stable environment for life, both in the water column and on the seabed.
Lichens of the Sierra Nevada have been little studied. A lichen is a composite organism consisting of a fungus and a photosynthetic partner growing together in a symbiotic relationship.
Elke Mackenzie, born Ivan Mackenzie Lamb, was a British polar explorer and botanist who specialised in the field of lichenology.
Psilolechia lucida is a species of saxicolous lichen in the family Psilolechiaceae. It is widely distributed through the world, where it grows on natural and artificial rocky substrates in the shade, often in sheltered underhangs. It forms a greenish crust on the surface of its substrate.
Rolf Santesson (1916–2013) was a Swedish lichenologist and university lecturer. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 1992 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology.
Gunnar Bror Fritiof Degelius was a Swedish lichenologist. Between the publications of his first and final scientific papers, Degelius had a 70-year-long research career. While he was best known for his expertise on the lichen genus Collema, he also wrote important papers on lichen biology and ecology, floristic studies of the Nordic countries and various other areas around the world, and lichen succession. Degelius described 124 new taxa, and published about 130 scientific papers. In 1992 he was one of the first to be awarded the Acharius Medal for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Fifteen species and three genera have been named in honour of Degelius.
Hypogymnia hultenii is a species of foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first described as Cavernularia hultenii by Swedish lichenologist Gunnar Degelius in 1937. Hildur Krog transferred it to the genus Hypogymnia in 1951.
Blennothallia is a genus of jelly lichens in the family Collemataceae. It has four species, which collectively have a cosmopolitan distribution.
Sten Gustaf Edvard Ahlner was a Swedish lichenologist.
Ochrolechia minuta is a species of crustose lichen in the family Ochrolechiaceae. It was first formally described in 1938 by Swedish lichenologist Gunnar Degelius as Perforaria minuta. The type specimen was collected from the Kodiak Island Borough in Alaska. Toby Spribille transferred it to the genus Ochrolechia in 2020, suggesting that the absence of cephalodia, and the presence of alectoronic acid, indicate that it is "related to the alectoronic acid-containing species of poriform Ochrolechia".
Gabura is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Arctomiaceae. Although it was originally circumscribed in 1763 by French botanist Michel Adanson, the name was nomen rejiciendum–it was "suppressed" against the conserved name Collema, and for a long time considered a synonym of Arctomia. In 2014, Per Magnus Jørgensen proposed to use the name Gabura for what was then known as Collema fasciculare. The name was formally resurrected for use in 2020. Gabura has three species transferred from the genus Arctomia following molecular phylogenetic analysis.
