Lichen  (Calicium corynellum)

Biology

All species of Calicium lichen have fruiting bodies, which decompose when ripe into a mass of spores. As they are small, they are often overlooked, and the best way of identifying the different species is by examining the thallus or main body of the lichen. However, as some species remain concealed within the wood or bark of trees, this can prove difficult.Lichens are fascinating things, being a partnership between two different types of organism. In most examples, this is an alga, and a fungus. The fungus is the part of the lichen we usually see as it makes up the main body of the organism. However, the alga - unlike the fungus - is capable of manufacturing its own food by photosynthesis. The fungus provides the alga with a place to live and the fungus takes some of the carbohydrates produced as a result of the photosynthesis. While it is believed that many of the algae that form one half of the lichen can live independently, it is also thought that many - if not all - of the fungi in the partnerships could not exist without their particular alga.

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