Lichen Pattern Series - 10
by Heiko Koehrer-Wagner
Title
Lichen Pattern Series - 10
Artist
Heiko Koehrer-Wagner
Medium
Photograph - Photographs On Canvas
Description
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). Lichens present a very intriguing problem for people whose job is to name different kinds of organisms. This is because a lichen is not a separate organism in the sense of being one type of individual. It is actually a close partnership between a fungus and an alga. The two types of organisms in the partnership are so closely interwoven that they appear as a single individual. This individual looks entirely different to either of the partner organisms making up the structure. Lichens are distinctive and they form many different, recognizable types. Many of these have been given specific names of their own, despite the fact that each lichen is already a mixture of different species.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 (e.g., Collema) in otherwise mesic habitats. Lichens are widespread and may be long-lived; however, many are also vulnerable to environmental disturbance, and may be useful to scientists in assessing the effects of air pollution, ozone depletion, and metal contamination. Lichens have also been used in making dyes and perfumes, as well as in traditional medicines. (Wikipedia)
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December 26th, 2011
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