Dr.
Sarita Srivastava
Assistant Professor
Botany Department
Dr. Sarita Srivastava
Assistant Professor, Botany
CMP College, University of Allahabad
Theophrastus first gave the term Lichen in 371-284 BC
1699: Morrison called them Musco Fungus
1700: Turnfort called them Plants with shallow cup like fruits but
lack flowers
Dellenius 1741: called Lichenoids for all the lichen like plants
Weber 1780: lichens are independent group of plants
Acharius 1798: classified lichen into a separate group of families.
He is the Father of Lichenology
Schwender 1867: proposed the dual component of Lichen
Stahl 1877: proposed that algae and fungus are of different origin
Crombie 1885: described the association as Romance of
Lichenology-Helotism- Mycobiont is Tyrant Master and Phyco
Biont is Damsel (master slave relationship
Reineke 1872: Association of Algae and Fungus as Consortium
where both have mutual growth and interdependence.
De Barry 1879: Proposed the term Symbiosis for the association of
Algae and Fungus
A Crustose lichen that grows on rock is called a saxicolous lichen.
Crustose lichens that grow on the rock are epilithic, and those that grow
immersed inside rock, growing between the crystals with only their
fruiting bodies exposed to the air, are called endolithic lichens.
A Crustose lichen that grows on bark is called a corticolous lichen.
A lichen that grows on wood from which the bark has been stripped is
called a lignicolous lichen.
Lichens that grow immersed inside plant tissues are called endophloidic
lichens or endophloidal lichens.
Lichens that use leaves as substrates, whether the leaf is still on the tree
or on the ground, are called epiphyllous or foliicolous.
A terricolous lichen grows on the soil as a substrate.
Many squamulous lichens are terricolous.
Umbillicate lichens are foliose lichens that are attached to the substrate
at only one point.
A vagrant lichen is not attached to a substrate at all, and lives its life
being blown around by the wind.
Aquatic lichen- Grow in sea water –Peltigra
sp.
Tundra region- Reindeer Moss-Cladonia
rangiferina
Colour of the lichens is due to the algal
pigments
White lichens: Gyrophora
• Fungal component
• Protects the algae
Mycobiont • Provides attachment to the
substratum
• Algal component
Phycobiont • Provides food
• Gives colour
Fungal component of the lichen belong to
Ascomycotina or Basidiomycotina
Eg of ascomycotina lichens: Peltigra ,
Parmelia, Graphis
Only 4 genera of lichens belong to
basidiomycotina: Cora, Corella, Dictyonema
Algal component mostly belongs to
Cyanophyta e.g. Gleocapsa, Nostoc,
Scytonema, Rivularia
Chlorophyta: e.g. Coccomyxa, Trebouxia,
Cladophora
Xanthophyta
Phaeophyta
Lichens are grouped into 3 classes based on
the participating fungal component
1. ASCOLICHENS, in which the fungal
component belongs to Ascomycetes. All the
three forms of lichens are in this group
2. BASIDIOLICHENS, in which the fungal
component belongs to Basidiomycetes.e.g.
Cora
3. LICHENS IMPERFECTI, in which the fungal
component belongs to Duteromycetes. e.g.
Crocynia, Lepraria
e.g. Folioose lichen:
Parmelia, Peltigra
Physcia
e.g. Crustose lichen:
Graaphis
Lecanora and Rhixocarpon
e.g. Fruticiose lichen:
Usnea and Cladonia sp
•Thallus is flat
dorsiventral.
•Closely attached to
the bark of trees like a
crust.
•Thalli may be
partially or completely
embedded in the
substratum.
•Fruiting body is seen
above the surface.
Graphis
Caloplaca thallincola,
Lepraria
Lecanora muralis
Flat dorsiventral thallus,
leaf like appearance with
irregular margins.
Looks like dried up thallus
of Bryophytes
Thallus is attached to the
substratum by means of
rhizoid like structure
Rhizines which are fungal
origin
Xanthoria parietina Peltigera membranacea
Thallus is cylindrical, branched, bushy in
appearance
May be erect or pendant hanging from the
branches of the trees
Attached to the substratum by means of basal
part
Roccella phycopsis
Usnea subfloridana,
Ramalina polymorpha
Hetroiomerous
Homoiomerous
Many lichens reproduce asexually, either by a piece
breaking off and growing on its own vegetative
reproduction
Diaspore: through the dispersal of diaspores
containing a few algal cells surrounded by fungal cells.
Because of the relative lack of differentiation in the
thallus, the line between diaspore formation and
vegetative reproduction is often blurred.
Fragmentation: Fruticose lichens can easily fragment,
and new lichens can grow from the fragment
vegetative reproduction.
Many lichens break up into fragments when they dry,
dispersing themselves by wind action, to resume
growth when moisture returns.
Soredia (singular
"soredium") are
small groups of
algal cells
surrounded by
fungal filaments
that form in
structures called
soralia, from which
the soredia can be
dispersed by wind
Isidia (singular "isidium")
are branched, spiny,
elongated, outgrowths
from the thallus that
break off for mechanical
dispersal.
Lichen propagules
(diaspores typically
contain cells from both
partners, although the
fungal components of so-
called "fringe species" rely
instead on algal cells
dispersed by the "core
species".
Only the fungal partner in a lichen reproduces sexually.
Lichens that are in Basidiomycetes produce mushroom
like reproductive structures.
Structures involved in reproduction often appear as
discs, bumps, or squiggly lines on the surface of the
thallus.
Many lichen fungi reproduce sexually like other fungi,
producing spores formed by meiosis and fusion of
gametes. Following dispersal, such fungal spores must
meet with a compatible algal partner before a functional
lichen can form.
This may be a common form of reproduction in
basidiolichens, which form fruiting bodies resembling
their non lichenized relatives.
Food:
Iceland moss (Cetraria islandica) an important
human food in northern Europe, cooked as a bread,
porridge, pudding, soup, or salad.
Wila (Bryoria fremontii) was an important food in
parts of North America, where it was usually pit
cooked.
Northern peoples in North America and Siberia
traditionally eat the partially digested Reindeer
Lichen (Cladonia spp.)
Rock tripe (Umbilicaria spp. and Lasalia spp.) is a
lichen that has frequently been used as an
emergency food in North America, and one
species,
Umblicaria esculenta is used in a variety of
traditional Korean and Japanese foods.
Lichenometry is a technique used to determine the
age of exposed rock surfaces based on the size of
lichen thalli.
Introduced by Beschel in the 1950s the technique
has found many applications.
it is used in archaeology, palaeontology, and
geomorphology. Lichenometry is especially useful
for dating surfaces less than 500 years old, as
radiocarbon dating techniques are less accurate
over this period
The lichens most commonly used for lichenometry
are those of the genera Rhizocarpon (e.g. the
species Rhizocarpon geographicum and Xanthoria
The pH indicator (indicated acidic or basic)
in the litmus test is a dye extracted from
the lichen Roccella tinctoria by boiling.
the orange Xanthoria parietina and the grey
foliaceous Parmelia saxatilis common on
rocks known as "crottle“
Lichens belonging to the
family Roccellaceae, commonly called
orchella weed or orchil used to make
chromosome dye Orecin
Historically in Europe, Lobaria
pulmonaria was collected in large
quantities as "Lungwort", due to its
lung-like appearance
Similarly Peltigera leucophlebia was
used as a supposed cure for thrush
due to the resemblance of its
cephalodia to the appearance of the
disease
Peltigra canina used in Dog bites
Usnic acid is the most commonly studied
metabolite produced by lichens and has been
associated with the suppression of
tuberculosis
If lichens are exposed to air pollutants at all times, without
any deciduous parts, they are unable to avoid the accumulation of
pollutants.
Also lacking stomata and a cuticle, lichens may absorb aerosols and
gases over the entire thallus surface from which they may
readily diffuse to the photobiont layer.
Because lichens do not possess roots, their primary source of
most elements is the air, and therefore elemental levels in lichens
often reflect the accumulated composition of ambient air.
The processes by which atmospheric deposition occurs include fog
and dew, gaseous absorption, and dry deposition.
Consequently, many environmental studies with lichens emphasize
their feasibility as effective biomonitors of atmospheric quality
