LICHEN

Lichen

Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a fungus and a photosynthetic partner growing together in a symbiotic relationship. The photobiont is usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium . The morphology, physiology and biochemistry of lichens are very different from those of the isolated fungus and alga in culture. Lichens occur in some of the most extreme environments on Earth—arctic tundra, hot deserts, rocky coasts, and toxic slag heaps. However, they are also abundant as epiphytes on leaves and branches in rain forests and temperate woodland, on bare rock, including walls and gravestones, and on exposed soil surfaces in otherwise mesic habitats. The ...

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lichen

Noun

  1. Any of many symbiotic organisms, being associations of fungi and algae; often found as white or yellow patches on old walls, etc.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: lichen
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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