The following points highlight the eight major importance of lichens. The importance are: 1. Early Colonisers 2. Food 3. Dyes 4. Perfumes 5. Medicines 6. Air Pollution 7. Fires 8. Damaging Buildings. Importance # 1. Early Colonisers: Lichens are early or pioneer colonisers of barren dry and naked rocks, cliffs, mountains and new terrains. During their growth lichens etch the [...]
On the basis of internal structure of thallus, the lichens are divided into two groups, namely, homoiomerous and heteromerous lichens. 1. Structure of Homoiomerous Lichen Thallus: In the gelatinous lichen thalli such as Collema and Leptogium, the thallus shows a simple structure with little differentiation. It consists of a loosely interwoven mass of fungal hyphae with algal cells equally distributed [...]
In this article we will discuss about the economic importance of lichens. 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. A few species have [...]