A lignocolous lichen is a lichen that grows on wood that has the bark stripped from it. [1] This is to be compared to a corticolous lichen that grows on bark, [2] and saxicolous lichens that grow on rock. [3]
A lignocolous lichen is a lichen that grows on wood that has the bark stripped from it. [1] This is to be compared to a corticolous lichen that grows on bark, [2] and saxicolous lichens that grow on rock. [3]
An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another 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.
A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. Lichens are important actors in nutrient cycling and act as producers which many higher trophic feeders feed on, such as reindeer, gastropods, nematodes, mites, and springtails. Lichens have properties different from those of their component organisms. They come in many colors, sizes, and forms and are sometimes plant-like, but are not plants. They may have tiny, leafless branches (fruticose); flat leaf-like structures (foliose); grow crust-like, adhering tightly to a surface (substrate) like a thick coat of paint (crustose); have a powder-like appearance (leprose); or other growth forms.
Chrysothrix candelaris, commonly known as the mustard powder lichen or gold dust lichen, is a species of leprose (powdery) lichen in the family Chrysothricaceae. It typically grows on tree bark, although it has also been recorded growing on rock. It does not show ascocarps or other reproductive structures, belonging to the group commonly known as the 'Fungi or lichens imperfecti' in the UK.
Ramalina fraxinea, the cartilage lichen, is a fruticose lichen with erect or pendulous thalli and branches that are flattened. Colour varies from pale green though yellow-grey to white-grey; apothecia are frequent and soralia may also be present.
Caloplaca marina, the orange sea lichen, is a crustose, placodioid lichen. It has wide distribution, and can be found near the shore on rocks or walls. Calos in Greek means nice, placa in Greek is shield. Caloplaca therefore means ‘beautiful patches’.
Celtic Rainforest is a colloquial term which refers to the temperate rainforest of Ireland and Great Britain. These woodlands are also variously referred to as Atlantic rainforest, Upland Oakwoods, Atlantic Oakwoods or Western Oakwoods. Today, the Celtic Rainforest exists as small fragments of the temperate rainforest that once covered much of Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. The majority of these fragments occur on steep-sided slopes above rivers and lakes which have avoided clearance and intensive grazing pressure. There are notable examples in Ireland especially along its western coast, including the Beara Rainforest in West Cork, the Great Forest of Aughty in Clare and Galway, Oldhead Wood in Mayo and Ardnamona Wood and Glenveagh in Donegal. In Scotland, rainforest exists on the islands and shores of Loch Maree, Loch Sunart, Loch Lomond, and one of the best preserved sites on the remote Taynish Peninsula in Argyll. In Wales, they occur on steep-sided riverine gorges in Snowdonia and Mid Wales. In England, there are examples in the Lake District, and steep-sided riverine and estuarine valleys in South West England, including the Fowey valley in Cornwall, and the valley of the river Dart which flows off Dartmoor, and has rainfall in excess of 2 metres per year.
A saxicolous lichen is a lichen that grows on rock. The prefix "sax" from the Latin saxum means "rock" or "stone".
A corticolous lichen is a lichen that grows on bark. This is contrasted with lignicolous lichen, which grows on wood that has had the bark stripped from it, and saxicolous lichen, which grows on rock.
Lichen morphology describes the external appearance and structures of a lichen. These can vary considerably from species to species. Lichen growth forms are used to group lichens by "vegetative" thallus types, and forms of "non-vegetative" reproductive parts. Some lichen thalli have the aspect of leaves ; others cover the substrate like a crust, others such as the genus Ramalina adopt shrubby forms, and there are gelatinous lichens such as the genus Collema.
Lichen anatomy and physiology is very different from the anatomy and physiology of the fungus and/or algae and/or cyanobacteria that make up the lichen when growing apart from the lichen, either naturally, or in culture. The fungal partner is called the mycobiont. The photosynthetic partner, algae or cyanobacteria, is called the photobiont. The body of a lichens that does not contain reproductive parts of the fungus is called the thallus. The thallus is different from those of either the fungus or alga growing separately. The fungus surrounds the algal cells, often enclosing them within complex fungal tissues unique to lichen associations. In many species the fungus penetrates the algal cell wall, forming penetration pegs or haustoria similar to those produced by pathogenic fungi. Lichens are capable of surviving extremely low levels of water content (poikilohydric). However, the re-configuration of membranes following a period of dehydration requires several minutes at least.
Symbiosis in lichens is the mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship of green algae and/or blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) living among filaments of a fungus, forming lichen.
Usnea articulata, commonly known as the string-of-sausage lichen, is a pale greenish-grey, densely branched lichen with a prostrate or pendant growth form. It grows on bark, on branches and twigs, and is often unattached to a branch and merely draped over it. It grows up to 100 cm (40 in) in length.
Pertusaria guineabissauensis is a species of crustose lichen in the family Pertusariaceae. It was described as a new species in 2019 by Graciela Paz-Bermúdez, Alan Archer, and John Elix. It grows on tree bark, producing a thick greenish-grey thallus with a dull, wrinkled surface. The lichen is characterised by the presence of wart-shaped (verruciform) ascomata, asci that contain eight ascospores arranged in a single row (uniseriate) and the presence of the secondary chemicals stictic and hypostictic acids. The specific epithet refers to Guinea-Bissau, where the lichen was discovered, and its only known locality.
Punctelia novozelandica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in New Zealand, it was formally described as a new species in 1988 by John Alan Elix and Jen Johnston. The type specimen was collected in Port Hills, Banks Peninsula (Canterbury), where it was found growing on moist rock ledges in a remnant forest. The lichen grows on both rocks and tree bark in cool temperate podocarp forests on both islands of New Zealand. It is quite similar in appearance to Punctelia subflava, but is distinguished from that species by the black thallus undersurface.
Punctelia graminicola is a species of foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows on rocks, and, less frequently, on bark in North America, South America, and East Africa. It has a blue-grey thallus measuring up to about 15 cm (6 in), covered with tiny pores called pseudocyphellae. Sometimes the lichen forms small lobes that project out from the surface. Fruiting bodies are uncommon in this species; if present, they resemble small cups with a brown internal disc measuring 3–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) in diameter. A lookalike species, Punctelia hypoleucites, is not readily distinguishable from Punctelia graminicola by appearance or habitat alone; these species can only be reliably differentiated by examining the length of their conidia.
Fuscidea muskeg is a species of crustose lichen in the family Fuscideaceae. Found in Alaska, it was described as a new species in 2020 by Tor Tønsberg and Martina Zahradníková. The type species was collected in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area of Glacier Bay National Park. Here it was found growing on a branch of the tree Pinus contorta in muskeg. The specific epithet muskeg is an Algonquin word for a blanket bog.
Fuscopannaria dillmaniae is a species of lichen in the family Pannariaceae. Found in Alaska, it was described as a new species in 2020 by lichenologist Toby Spribille.
Steineropsis laceratula is a species of crustose placodioid lichen in the family Pannariaceae. It was first formally described in 1902 by French lichenologist Auguste-Marie Hue as Pannaria laceratula. Per Magnus Jørgensen proposed a transfer to Fuscopannaria in 1994. The taxon shuffled genera again in 2020 by Toby Spribille and Stefan Ekman after molecular phylogenetic analysis of the DNA from specimens collected in Alaska revealed its correct classification in the genus Steineropsis. The type specimen was collected in 1904 from Hakkoda, Japan, at an elevation of 1,200 m (3,900 ft); here the lichen was found growing on the bark of birch, but the species also grows on rock.
Psoroglaena stigonemoides is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It occurs in Great Britain and Ireland. It was first described scientifically by lichenologist Alan Orange in 1989, as Macentina stigonemoides. He collected the type specimen from Cardiganshire, Cambria, where it was found growing on the bark of Ulmus glabra in a humid forest. Aino Henssen transferred it to the genus Psoroglaena in 1995.
Pertusaria lueckingii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Pertusariaceae. Found on the Galápagos Islands, it was formally described as a new species in 2015 by Frank Bungartz, Alan W. Archer, and John Elix. The type specimen was collected on Floreana Island, where it was found growing on the bark of a south-exposed trunk of Cedrella odorata. The species epithet honours German lichenogist Robert Lücking, "who first recognized this taxon as an independent species".
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