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Moss/Lichen on roof (was:victorian/edwardian houses or new houses?)
The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:
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.
Order, according to my reading, but I'd go for kingdom if given the
choice, as it seems more appropriate.
How unlikely would you consider mitochondria and chloroplasts?
In lichens? Logically, I'd consider chloroplasts and mitochondria
universal, since they are both present in the green and blue-green algae
which make up part of a lichen. The algae in lichens can be cultivated
separately, but AFAIK the fungal element will germinate but not continue
developing to maturity. I presume that mitochondrial DNA is present in
fungi, but chloroplasts are not, hence the value to the fungus of the
symbiotic arrangement.
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.
While I have stopped many times in the Peak District, I've never done so
with lichens in mind. Radio waves, yes.
I hadn't noticed the areas I've stopped in to be even remotely urbanised.
--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/
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