Are Lichens Plants?
 

I know we sometimes discuss lichens here. Not that I would tell anyone not to.
They are a symbiotic combination of a fungus and an alga. Are they still
considered plants? Is lichenology still a branch of botany? What about
mycology?
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

Are Lichens Plants?
 

Xref: 127.0.0.1 sci.bio.botany:19709

Iris Cohen schreef
I know we sometimes discuss lichens here. Not that I would tell anyone not
to. They are a symbiotic combination of a fungus and an alga. Are they still
considered plants? Is lichenology still a branch of botany? What about
mycology?
Iris,

+ + +
The animals feeding on them regard them as plants.
The ICBN does do too.
Governments that deal with budgets mostly regard them as plants too (ie no
separate budget or often any budget at all)?

Mycology the same minus the animals.
PvR

Are Lichens Plants?
 

Mycology the same minus the animals.

What about truffles? Aren't they eaten by pigs?
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

Are Lichens Plants?
 

Mycology the same minus the animals.

Iris Cohen schreef
What about truffles? Aren't they eaten by pigs?
Iris,

AFAIK, Fungi themselves are not eaten by animals. Some of the fruiting
bodies are eaten, but not like plants would be, as part of the general
vegetation ("grazed"). Fruiting bodies are sought out as delicacies.
PvR

Are Lichens Plants?
 

In article ,
wrote...

I know we sometimes discuss lichens here. Not that I would tell anyone not to.
They are a symbiotic combination of a fungus and an alga.

But the lichen species is the fungal species. Many species of lichens
share fewer species of algal symbiont.

Are they still
considered plants? Is lichenology still a branch of botany? What about
mycology?

Sure, why not? They're traditional branches of the field. Lichens at
least are "plantlike organisms". Okay, I suppose it depends entirely
on what a given speaker means by "plants". It needn't be a taxonomic
or phylogenetic term, and scientific disciplines like "botany" needn't
be restricted to single clades.

For that matter, not all fungi are related to other fungi, and some
lichens aren't related to the other lichens.

If we want to restrict "plant" to the narrower phylogenetic group
containing the familiar green land plants and their kin, then not only
lichens but also most algae aren't "plants". [Well, at least some green
algae are closely related to land plants, but green plants, red algae
and brown algae, etc aren't at all related to one another as plantlike
organisms].

On the other hand, if someone wants to call lichens "plants", he really
should make it very clear that they're not related to more typical "
plants".

There's something to be said for using the formal group names:
Lecanorales, Ascomycota, Chlorophyta, Embryophyta, Rhodophyta, Phaeophyta,
when precision is needed, and keeping "plant" as an informal, unscientific
term.

http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Eukaryotes&contgroup=Life

cheers

Are Lichens Plants?
 

In article ,
P van Rijckevorsel wrote:
Mycology the same minus the animals.

Iris Cohen schreef
What about truffles? Aren't they eaten by pigs?
Iris,

AFAIK, Fungi themselves are not eaten by animals. Some of the fruiting
bodies are eaten, but not like plants would be, as part of the general
vegetation ("grazed"). Fruiting bodies are sought out as delicacies.

Lots of invertebrates eat fungal hyphae in the soil.

Are Lichens Plants?
 

Toshiba is a one-celled organism? I'm sorry I asked.
;-)
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

Are Lichens Plants?
 

From: (Beverly Erlebacher)

In article ,
P van Rijckevorsel wrote:
Mycology the same minus the animals.

Iris Cohen schreef
What about truffles? Aren't they eaten by pigs?
Iris,

AFAIK, Fungi themselves are not eaten by animals. Some of the fruiting
bodies are eaten, but not like plants would be, as part of the general
vegetation ("grazed"). Fruiting bodies are sought out as delicacies.

Lots of invertebrates eat fungal hyphae in the soil.


Cheese is generally considered quite tasty. People will also eat yeasts in
bread, beer, and other ferments.

Sean



--
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Are Lichens Plants?
 

In article ,
wrote...

Toshiba is a one-celled organism? I'm sorry I asked.
;-)

I must be unusually slow tonight, but huh?

cheers

Are Lichens Plants?
 

On 7/1/03 3:26 PM, Iris Cohen wrote:

I know we sometimes discuss lichens here. Not that I would tell anyone not to.
They are a symbiotic combination of a fungus and an alga.
Besides of green algas, there are also cyanobacterias (prokaryotic
blue-green algas) as photosyntetical partner. It depends what you call
'alga'. This is also not *taxonomical*, but common (traditional) name.

Are they still considered plants?
Yes, in *wide* and common meaning of this word. The same as 'alga'.

Is lichenology still a branch of botany? What about mycology?
Yes, traditionally. Or mycology if you wish ;) Lichenology is a branch
of mycology, and mycology is traditionally a brach of botany... ;-P

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Huh! :)
Regards,
--
/\/\ichal Smoczyk, msmoczykNOSPAM(at)wp.pl
===delete 'NOSPAM' from my adress===

Are Lichens Plants?
 

On 7/2/03 4:11 AM, mel turner wrote:
I know we sometimes discuss lichens here. Not that I would tell anyone not to.
They are a symbiotic combination of a fungus and an alga.
But the lichen species is the fungal species. Many species of lichens
share fewer species of algal symbiont.
Yes, I agree. That's why we call them /lichen forming/ and
/lichenicolous/ fungi. Most of them are ascomycetes, occasionally the
fungus is a basidiomycete (AFAIK in tropics) or deuteromycete (imperfect
fungus). There are also parastic and saprophytic fungi which occurs on
lichens. And lichens are fungi especially adapted to obtain food from
algae living in their hyphae (like prisoners in prison from hyphae ;)

Regards,
--
/\/\ichau, msmoczykNOSPAM(at)wp.pl
Website said: "Use Internet Explorer 5 or better". So i used Mozilla.

Are Lichens Plants?
 

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Huh! :)

A famous bit of American philosophy. Sorry I can't translate it into Polish. We
have an expression, when one has been through a long, arduous ordeal or task,
and finally sees success coming, that we see "the light at the end of the
tunnel." Mr. Russell's quip is to remind us not to be overoptimistic.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)