Naturee Musée Canadien De La Nature Mmë LICHENS HERE ARE a FEW of the LICHENS FOUND in the WEST BLOCK, GRASSLANDS NATIONAL PARK
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naturcariadiarrmuseum of naturee musée canadien de la nature mmë LICHENS HERE ARE A FEW OF THE LICHENS FOUND IN THE WEST BLOCK, GRASSLANDS NATIONAL PARK. Carpet pixie-cup Desert firedot lichen Cladonia pocillum Caloplaca trachyphylla Small goblets on olive-green Orange-yellow, radiating lobes lobes. Among mosses and with orange spore-producing short grass on the open prairie. bodies. On rock. Golden moonglow lichen Orange rock-posy Dimelaena oreina Rhizoplaca chrysoleuca Pale yellow, flat lobes with Pale green-grey lobes with black, round spore-producing clustered, orange spore- bodies. On smooth rocks on producing bodies. On the open prairie. prairie boulders. Powdered beard lichen Tumbleweed shield lichen Usnea lapponica Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa Pale yellowish filaments with Yellowish green, in-rolled deposits of soredia (see over lobes. Loose over soil and page). On Juniper. among short grass and mosses. Tundra saucer lichen Notaris' soot lichen Ochrolechia upsaliensis Cyphelium notarisii Pale yellow crust with round Bright yellow crust with round, spore-producing bodies. black spore-producing bodies. On grassland slopes. On Juniper. Tomin's orange lichen Subdecipiens rock-shield Caloplaca tominii Xanthoparmelia subdecipiens Orange crust on soil in the Yellowish green lobes with river valley. brown spore-producing bodies. On prairie rocks. Upper cortex WHAT ARE LICHENS? A lichen is comprised of two organisms: Algal layer A photosynthetic partner (green algae and/or cyanobacteria) uses the sun's energy to make food for both partners. Medulla A fungus partner provides a home, protection from weather and harmful solar radiation, and reproductive ability. Lower cortex Rhizines WHAT ABOUT LICHEN COLOURS? The bright colours of some lichens are the result of special WHAT'S INSIDE chemicals they produce that, among other things, protect the A LICHEN? photosynthetic partner from the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays. For example, the yellow colour of some lichens is If you slice through a lichen and examine provided by usnic acid. Other chemicals derived from lichens it with a microscope, you will typically find have been used for centuries as traditional fabric dyes. a layer of algae sandwiched between two layers of specialized fungus cells. HOW DO LICHENS REPRODUCE? AT THE TOP Many lichens produce fungal spores, which are dispersed The upper cortex is thin and allows light through air and water and must then associate with algal or and moisture through while blocking cyanobacterial cells to start a new lichen. Others reproduce harmful ultra-violet radiation. by developing and dispersing small bundles of fungal threads wrapped around algal cells. Once re-established, these lichen IN THE MIDDLE bundles (soredia) will form clones of the parent plant. Some The algal layer absorbs light passing species develop both spores and composite packages, which through the outer cortex, and uses the presumably increases their chances of reproducing solar energy to convert carbon dioxide successfully. and water into food (photosynthesis). ON THE BOTTOM TREAT WITH CARE A network of fungal cells called the Some of the 194 species found in the Park medulla provides space for the exchange are rare and some are susceptible to trampling. of gases produced by the algal layer Please help protect them. Note that specimens during photosynthesis. Some lichens also may not be collected without a permit. have a lower cortex layer with hair-like growths called rhizines that allow the Photos. lichen to hold on to a surface such as Colin Freebury © Canadian Museum of Nature rock, soil or bark. Diagram courtesy of the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph Foliose lichens are leaf-like, with a lower cortex as in the figure above. Crustose lichens are crust-like and closely attached to rock, soil or wood. Fruticose lichens are often attached at a single point and are shrub-like, either standing up or hanging down. Golden moonglow lichen with Spiny phlox flowers .