LICHENS

  

 General
 information
 Lichens growing
 on the trees
 and overground
 lichens
 Lichens
 on the rocks
 and multi-
 habitat
 lichens
 Monitoring
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 of lichens
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Text:
Anna
Krzysztofiak

Photos:
Lech Krzysztofiak

Drawings:
Anna Krzysztofiak

Webdesign: 
KAJA
 
2003

  

  

  

Lichens growing on the trees and overground lichens

  

Bryoria fuscescens

  

  

LICHENS GROWING ON THE TREES (epiphytical) are met on the bark of trunks, tree branches, shrubs and bushes. They often form characteristic communities for the group of plants. Their specific composition depends on the type of a plant, its age, structure and bark chemism as well as on the light and moist conditions and the distances of a plant from the sources of pollution. Typical lichens growing on the trees are: Bryoria fuscescens, Ramalina farinacea, Ramalina fastigiata. Some species (epixilical lichens) can grow on the dead wood - moldy stumps, logs, fences etc. The lichen growing on the dead wood are: Cladonia cenotea and Cladonia coniocraea. Some species can grow on the rotting phylum Bryophyte or fragments of flower plants, e.g. ordinary impetigo Lepraria incana.

  

  

  

  

  

Melanelia fuliginosa

  

  

Hypotrachyna revoluta has a small grey leafy thallus. The bottom central side of the lichen is black turning brown on the edges with black rhizines. It grows on the bark of leafy trees, on lowland it mostly grows on alder wood and in places of high air moisture. This type of lichen is keen on moisture. The lichen dies out due to the cutting out of moist forests and excessive drying of interiors of wood stands.

  

  

  

  

Bryoria fuscescens has a black, grey or brown bushy thread-like thallus. Cylindrical twigs of about radial construction are in some places flattened and wrinkled. It grows on the bark of leafy and coniferous trees; it seldom grows on the wood. This lichen is very sensitive to air pollution. It grows on the strongly or moderately sour bark.

  

Evernia prunastri has a soft bushy, hanging or coming off from the substrate thallus with many branches. On the upper cortex it is greenish or yellowish and on the bottom it is white. The fragments of lichen are flat and wrinkled. It grows on the bark of leafy trees; sometimes it grows on the rotting wood and on the rocky substrate. Evernia prunastri is one of the most resistant lichen to air pollution. It prefers moderately acid or neutrally substrates; the increase of acidification causes lichen' necrosis.

  

Melanelia fuliginosa has a leafy, ribbon-like, close-fitting to the substrate brown thallus. The bottom side of the lichen is black, its edges are brown and the numerous captors are black. It grows on the bark of leafy trees; it seldom grows on the wood. This lichen is sensitive to any pollution. It grows on the moderately or neutrally sour bark, in shady places of comparatively high level of moisture. It dies in the result of excessive acidifying or drying of the substrate (acid rains).

  

Ramalina farinacea

Ramalina farinacea has a bushy white or grey and green thallus with many branches; when dry it is stiff and prickly in touch. It grows on the bark of leafy trees in forests and outside them, especially on the wayside trees. In the past it used to be very common all over the country; nowadays it becomes more and more rare. It prefers neutral or alkaline substrates. It demands the increased contents of nitric compounds (nitrophic type). It tolerates moderate dustiness in a good manner.

  

Platismatia glauca has a large leafy greenish or bluish thallus. The sections of the thallus are wide, strongly coming off from the substrate, strongly notched on the banks. The bottom side of the cortex is bright or even white on the edges and it becomes darker in the central with single rhizines. It grows on both the leafy and coniferous trees, especially in a great number in light places of about relatively high level of air moisture. This lichen is sensitive to pollution and to the prolonged air and substrate drying.

  

  

  

OVERGROUND LICHENS (epigeic) grow on the ground, sandy or gravelly substrates which is not dominated by other plants. One can meet a great number of overground lichens growing on sandy dunes, heaths, raised peat bogs and in pine forests. Typical overground lichens are: Peltigera canina, Peltigera didactyla and Cladonia fimbriata.

  

Cladonia furcata

Cladonia furcata has two forms of thallus (the primary shell-like thallus and the secondary bushy thallus). The hulls of primary thalli are small, impermanent, quickly disappearing, greenish or grey and green. It grows on the ground in coniferous forests, on peat bogs, dunes, heaths and it very seldom grows on the wood.

  

Pseudevernia furfuracea has a leafy-bushy or exclusively bushy thallus. The sections of the thallus are with many grey branches, tucked up on the banks and directed downwards. The bottom side of the cortex has a variable color ranging from white to black. It grows on the bark of trees and on the wood, mostly in forests. This lichen is quite resistant to pollution. It is an acidophilic lichen and it grows well on the extremely sour bark (of pine or birch) or the moderately sour bark (of oaks).

  

Cladonia macilenta

Cladina rangiferina has a bushy thallus forming white and grey "grasses". It grows on the ground in the coniferous forests; it is especially keen on dry places such as heaths, pine nurseries and in pine coppices.

  

Cladonia macilenta has a grey or green and white thallus; the primary thallus has glaucous and green hulls while the secondary thallus grows in the form of sticks finished with the red sporophores. It grows on the ground and on the rotting wood in forests, on the heaths and in the vicinity of roads.

  

Peltigera didactyla

  

  

  

  

  

Peltigera didactyla has a light grey leafy thallus. The bottom side of the cortex is white with some visible nerves and small rhizines. It grows on the sandy soil (very seldom it grows on the organic soil), among grasses and mosses, in the vicinity of roads, on the edges of forests and in the gravel-pits.

   

   

   

 

  

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