growing & crawling: lichen to this

Growing & Crawling

lichen to this!

"Two kingdoms, both alike in dignity, on a fair oak tree, where we lay our scene"

Usually in this article I write about one of three kingdoms, plants, animals (or insects to be more specific), and occasionally fungus. This month you are getting two for one.

We have all seen lichen growing on the sides of trees, rocks, and other wooden structures but how many of us have stopped to really think about what on earth lichen actually is?

As it turns out we should have been asking what ARE lichen.

Lichens are formed by a relationship of two organisms, an alga and fungus. The fungus grows and leaves space for the algae to permeate the fungal structure, thoroughly entwining them into a mutualistic relationship. Lichens are a great indicator of air quality. They absorb everything around them like air, water, pollutants, and nutrients. Toxins can be extracted from lichens by scientists to be studied.

By janet douberly

Janet Douberly is the Media Manager at Downtown Greens