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Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic relationship between a fungus (the mycobiont) and a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont or phycobiont), usually either a green alga (commonly Trebouxia) or cyanobacterium (commonly Nostoc). 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. (Wikipedia)
This lichen was growing over the ruins of a Roman amphitheater in Merida, Spain.
Beatrix Potter (author of Peter Rabbit) was the first person in Britain, and one of the first in the world, to recognize that lichens were composed of two organisms, a fungus and an alga. Her microscopic study of lichens led her to the conclusion that the two organisms lived in a mutually advantageous relationship: symbiosis. The alga took care of photosynthesis for the pair, converting sunlight to useful nourishment, she believed; the fungus gave the alga a safe haven, stored water, and drew minerals necessary for photosynthesis from the anchoring rock or tree trunk. (Science Musings).
2 Comments
I know, Emma, Beatrix Potter was way more than a children's book author; in addition to her work on lichens, she pretty much started the National Trust by donating her properties to the British government.
interesting fact about Beatrice Potter!