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Article: Lichens.
- Article from:
- Ranger Rick
- Article date:
- September 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 National Wildlife Federation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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So What ARE Lichens?
Look at a lichen (LIE-kin) and you'd probably guess it's some kind of weird plant. But lichens aren't plants. They aren't animals, either. Instead, they're two kinds of lifeforms living together. The two lifeforms are called fungi (FUNJ-eye) and algae (AL-jee).
Life Partners
Think of a lichen as a fungus farmer growing a crop of algae. The two work together. First, the fungus gives the algae a good place to live--sort of like a farmer giving seeds a good place to grow. The fungus also collects water and minerals and protects the algae from getting too much sunlight.
Meanwhile, the algae make food from water and carbon ...