page_title: Fruticose lichen
section_title: Growth and structure
hierarchical_section_title: Fruticose lichen / Growth and structure
caption_attribution_description: Octon, Hérault, FRANCE
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: Fruticose or ‘shrubby’ lichen differ from other forms of lichen based on their bushy form that is attached to the ground only at the base of the lichen. The most important difference that distinguishes fruticose lichen from other forms of lichen is the continuous algal layer that grows around the circumference of the branches of the lichen. The thallus may be either rounded or flattened, unbranched or branched. Fruticose lichens have a fine, round, hair-like structures and are loosely attached to rocks and trees. Although fruticose lichens are defined as being bushy, they can also exhibit a flattened and strap-like appearance. Highly branched fruticose lichen have a high surface to volume ratio that results in a rapid drying and wetting pattern compared to lichens that have a lower surface to volume ratio.
  The internal structure of fruticose lichen is composed of a dense outer cortex, a thin algal layer, a medulla and a hollow center or a dense central cord. The structure of fruticose lichens depends also on their mycobionts. Lichen undergoes diffuse growth and the thallus elongates over time. New branch cells grow through the wall materials of older neighboring cells. Microenvironmental conditions influence individual thalli and branches causing non-uniform growth. There are 11 stages of growth for fruticose lichen from the beginning to end of their life cycle.
caption: Teloschistes chrysophthalmus
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