In article ,
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
The message
from "RichardS" noaccess@invalid contains these words:

Apparently lichens only grow in places of low atmospheric pollution,
so it's a good indicator of air quality, as well as any aesthetic
benefit.

but is the same true about moss? In fact, are moss and lichen synonymous?
I know that lichens are rarer than they once were.

No. Moss is a bryophyte, a true plant. Lichen is a symbiotic union of an
alga and a fungus - an unlikely combination as algae are plants and
fungi are in a completely separate order.

Kingdom, actually.

How unlikely would you consider mitochondria and chloroplasts?

I must say that I haven't noticed any evidence of lichens being any less
common than they were, and I've been interested in them since the early
'fifties.

I think that it depends where you are. I have heard that they have
gone down badly in what were rural areas but now are not, like the
Peak District.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.