Find out types of lichens and its economice importent
Answers
Answer:
Lichens occur in one of four basic growth forms, as illustrated below:
1.crustose - crustlike, growing tight against the substrate.
2.squamulose - tightly clustered and slightly flattened pebble-like units.
3.foliose - leaflike, with flat sheets of tissue not tightly bound.
4fruticose - free-standing branching tubes.
1. 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.
2. The traditional use of lichens in the preparation of dyes deserves a special consideration. The fungal components of certain species of lichens produce coloured pigments that have been used for centuries as dyes in colouring fabrics and paints. One of these is orchil.
It is a blue dye formerly used to dye woollens. Litmus is another important and widely used dye in chemical laboratories as an acid-base indicator. It is obtained from Rocella montaignei.
3.Medicine use