Tree Lichen
by Leone Lund
Title
Tree Lichen
Artist
Leone Lund
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
This Lichen appears to be a Ramalina, a genus of lichens belonging to the suborder Lecanorineae.
From Wikipedia.org - Lichens must compete with plants for access to sunlight, but because of their small size and slow growth, they thrive in places where higher plants have difficulty growing. Lichens are often the first to settle in places lacking soil, constituting the sole vegetation in some extreme environments such as those found at high mountain elevations and at high latitudes.
Lichens are eaten by many different cultures across the world. Although some lichens are only eaten in times of famine, others are a staple food or even a delicacy. Two obstacles are often encountered when eating lichens: lichen polysaccharides are generally indigestible to humans, and lichens usually contain mildly toxic secondary compounds that should be removed before eating. Very few lichens are poisonous, but those high in vulpinic acid or usnic acid are toxic. Most poisonous lichens are yellow.
Many lichens produce secondary compounds, including pigments that reduce harmful amounts of sunlight and powerful toxins that reduce herbivory or kill bacteria. These compounds are very useful for lichen identification, and have had economic importance as dyes such as cudbear or primitive antibiotics.
Lichen is used in model railroading and other modeling hobbies as a material for making trees and shrubs.
Uploaded
February 26th, 2013
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Viewed 575 Times - Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 03/22/2024 at 2:39 AM
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Comments (3)
Mother Nature
V/F As a fan of lichens and such, I must say you've done a magnificent job with this - it's lovely!
Leone Lund replied:
Thank you for your kind comments and v/f. I find them so interesting as they are all different and have such fascinating shapes.