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Lichens suppress the growth of mosses and higher plants around them. Lichens do not have roots and do not need to tap continuous reservoirs of water like most higher plants, thus they can grow in locations impossible for most plants, such as bare rock, sterile soil or sand, and various artificial structures such as walls, roofs, and monuments.
Thallophyta is a division of the plant kingdom including primitive forms of plant life showing a simple plant body. Including unicellular to large algae, fungi, lichens. [5] The first ten phyla are referred to as thallophytes. They are simple plants without roots stems or leaves. [6] They are non-embryophyta. These plants grow mainly in water.
Usnea filipendula – one of about 20,000 described species of lichen. The following outline provides an overview of and topical guide to lichens.. Lichen – composite organism made up of multiple species – a fungal partner, one or more photosynthetic partners, which can be either green algae or cyanobacteria, and, in at least 52 genera of lichens, a yeast. [1]
With the exception of calicioid lichens, lichen growth forms are based on the appearance of the thallus, which is the vegetative (non-reproductive) part of the lichen. [5] In most species, this form is determined by the lichen's fungal partner, though in a small number, it is instead the alga or cyanobacteria (the lichen's photosynthetic ...
The outer "skin" of the lichen, the cortex, is composed of closely packed fungal hyphae and serves to protect the thallus from water loss due to evaporation as well as harmful effects of high levels of irradiation. In Xanthoria parietina, the thickness of the thalli is known to vary depending on the habitat in which it grows. Thalli are much ...
The algae obtain water and protection from drying out and ultraviolet damage by the fungus. ... Other common growth forms are crustose, crustlike lichens that grow tight against, even into, the ...
An example of when "lichenized fungus" refers to just the fungus is when the fungus is grown in culture without a phycobiont. An example where "lichenized fungus" refers to the entire lichen is in a list of classified lichens. Some fungi can only be found living on lichens (obligate parasites), but are not
Fruticose lichens have a complex vegetation structure, and are characterized by an ascending, bushy or pendulous appearance. As with other lichens, many fruticose lichens can endure high degrees of desiccation. They grow slowly and often occur in habitats such as on tree barks, on rock surfaces and on soils in the Arctic and mountain regions.