Lichen

Group:

Plant; Fungus, Alga; Fungus

© Erica Bower

Lichen

Food chain :

Producer

What it eats :

Makes its own food with carbon dioxide from the air, and water and minerals from rainwater, using sunlight energy.

Eaten by:

Slugs and some other invertebrates graze on lichens.

Habitat:

WoodlandWoodland

Description:

Lichens are a partnership between fungi and algae. The fungus makes a mass of tangled threads. Lodged within these are algal cells (a cell is the basic unit of a living organism, often a box- or sphere-shape). The algae makes sugars and other food using the energy from the sun. Some of this food is used by the fungus. There are hundreds of types of lichen. Some are powdery, crusty, branched or hair-like. Look for lichens in woods and on stone surfaces (e.g. gravestones).