page_title: Fruticose lichen
section_title: Economic and ecological significance
hierarchical_section_title: Fruticose lichen / Economic and ecological significance
caption_attribution_description: English: A group of lichen in River-Rise Preserve State Park - Florida State Parks
context_page_description: A fruticose lichen is a form of lichen fungi that is characterized by a coral-like shrubby or bushy growth structure. It is composed of a thallus and a holdfast. It is formed from a symbiotic relationship of a photobiont such as cyanobacteria and two mycobionts. Fruticose lichen is composed of a complex vegetation structure, and characterized by an ascending, bushy or pendulous appearance. While lichen communities are mainly controlled by water and light, vegetative dispersal and filamentous growth in fruticose lichen is often associated with areas of low elevation. Fruticose lichens can endure high degrees of desiccation. They grow very slowly and will often occur in extreme habitats such as on tree barks, on rock surfaces and on soils in the Arctic and mountain regions.
context_section_description: Although they lack economic importance comparable to that of their algal and fungal components, lichen play an important role in nitrogen cycling, providing critical winter forage for caribou and colonizing newly exposed surfaces.
caption: Group of fruiticose Lichen
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