(non-taxonomic group)
Overview • Description • Distribution • Taxonomy
Description |
Lichens are highly diverse. They are commonly grouped in field guides by morphological type (growth form) and by the surface that they grow on (substrate). Growth form Lichens are commonly grouped by growth form. The most common growth forms used in field guides are crusticose, foliose, and fruticose. Crusticose lichens are crust-like. They adhere tightly to and blend directly into a substrate. They look like they were spray-painted on a substrate. Foliose lichens appear leaf-like and are divided into lobes. The lower surface is often a different color than the upper surface. Fruticose lichens look like a leafless shrub or bush. They may grow upright or hang down. The branches may be round or flattened. They may be few, thick, and erect, or many, thin, and draping down. Other growth forms include scale-like (squamulose), powdery (leprose), jelly-like (gelatinous), stringy (filamentous) and wispy (byssoid). Substrate Lichens are also grouped by substrate. They grow on a wide variety of substrates, but in field guides these are commonly limited to ground, rocks, and trees. They also grow on roofs, walls, gravestones, and statues. Some lichens, called vagrant lichens, are not attached or become detached from a substrate and blow about in the wind. There are fewer than 100 species of vagrant lichens, but they occur all over the world, in all kinds of temperature zones. |
Distribution |
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1/10/2025 |
Taxonomy |
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Kingdom | Fungi (fungi) |
Subkingdom | Dikarya |
Subordinate Taxa |
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Ascomycota Basidiomycota |
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Common Names |
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Visitor Photos |
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Luciearl |
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on a snag. Deeply grooved bark, I think was probably red oak, but not sure. |
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… most likely red oak |
Alfredo Colon |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
Mosses and Lichens |
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About
of Minnesota |
Lichens |
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About
Most are unidentified. I will add IDs as soon as I find them. |
Lichens |
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LICHEN |
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Visitor Videos |
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Other Videos |
What's in a Lichen? How Scientists Got It Wrong for 150 Years | Short Film Showcase |
About
Jan 25, 2018 For 150 years, scientists believed lichen were defined by a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and algae. Meet the team of researchers who upended this belief in this short film by Andy Johnson, Talia Yuki Moore, Chris A. Johns, and Kate Furby. |
Lichen: The Mysterious Love Child of Fungi and Algae |
About
Apr 10, 2023 |
Everything You Wanted to Know About Lichen |
About
Jan 17, 2020 Today I meet up with Mike Dixon, a Lichen enthusiast. Together we spend a pleasant morning searching the churchyard of St Lawrence church in Falmer, East Sussex for the wonderful organism that grows on tombstones, as well as trees, wood and brick. A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. The combined lichen has properties different from those of its component organisms. |
8 Lichens to Know and Love |
About
Oct 8, 2020 |
HOW TO RECOGNIZE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LICHENS | Lichen growth forms, structures and reproduction |
About
Jan 23, 2023 What are the different lichen growth forms? How can you recognize them? What are those disc-like structures on lichens? And how do lichens reproduce?3 In this video, we go through basic lichen growth forms (thallus types), their color and some morphological features. Understanding how to categorize lichens and being able to recognize some of their most noticeable features will help you with lichen identification. We will also learn what apothecia, isidia and soredia are and, along with that, we touch on types of reproduction in lichens. |
Visitor Sightings |
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Luciearl |
Location: Lake Shore, MN |
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Luciearl |
Location: Fairview Twp, Cass County on a snag. Deeply grooved bark, I think was probably red oak, but not sure. |
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Luciearl |
Location: Fairview Twp, Cass County … most likely red oak |
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Alfredo Colon |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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Created: 1/10/2025 Last Updated: © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved. |