Economical and ecological importance of lichens
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Answer:
Certain species of lichens are valuable sources of food. Most important of these are the fruticose lichen Cladonia rangiferina (Reindeer Moss) and other tundra lichens which serve as food for reindeer, caribou, musk ox and other wild animals of the Arctic tundra zone.
A few species have been used as food by man. One of the rocky lichens is still regarded a delicacy in China and Japan. A species of Parmelia is prized as food in Southern India. Cetraria islandica (the Iceland Moss) and Lecanora esculenta are the other edible species.
Lichens are found world-wide and mainly grow on various places like on the bark of tree, walls, rocks, gravestones, roofs and soil etc. It plays an important role in making the environment free from pollution. This article deals why lichens are necessary for the environment, where it is found and what are its economic importance.
SHIKHA GOYAL NOV 7, 2017 13:02 IST
Economic and Ecological importance of Lichens
Lichens are composite organisms that are formed as a result of the association of one or two races of fungi (ascomycetes or basidiomycetes) and algae whether green algae or blue green algae (cyanobacteria). The fungal components of lichen are known as mycobiont and that of algae phycobiont. The two components remain mutually in such a way that they make the same thallus and behave like a single organism or we can say that Lichens are complex plants, living in symbiotic relationships with fungus and algae. The dominant partner is the fungus, which gives the lichen the majority of its characteristics, from its thallus shapes to its fruiting bodies.