{"id":23335,"date":"2022-12-14T12:52:21","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T11:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=41489"},"modified":"2022-12-14T13:42:26","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T12:42:26","slug":"lichens-what-they-are-and-how-to-identify-the-different-types","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/lichens-what-they-are-and-how-to-identify-the-different-types\/","title":{"rendered":"Lichens: what they are and how to identify the different types"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Brett Westwood\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 14 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

If you fancy a new hobby that you can undertake whatever the weather and wherever you live, why not try lichenology? This rapidly growing science takes enthusiasts from the paving slabs outside their front doors to the weathered summits of the Scottish Highlands.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What are lichens?<\/h2>\n

At school we were taught that lichens were an intimate partnership between a fungus and an alga, but it\u2019s not always that simple. Some of the \u2018algae\u2019 turn out to be cyanobacteria, and the precise nature of the partnership can be hard to untangle. The net result, however, is a lichen flora described by the late lichen hunter Oliver Gilbert as a \u201cravishing display of colour, texture, symmetry, newness and sculptural form.\u201d<\/p>\n