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lichens

  • plural
    of lichen.
    lichen
    noun
    any complex organism of the group Lichenes, composed of a fungus in symbiotic union with an alga and having a greenish, gray, yellow, brown, or blackish thallus that grows in leaflike, crustlike, or branching forms on rocks, trees, etc.

Example Sentences

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Both are small, with cone-shaped shells measuring about 6 mm in length, and they live on limestone rocks where they feed on algae and lichens.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

An "extinction crisis" is happening in Britain's temperate rainforests where some of the world's rarest mosses, lichens and liverworts are vanishing, ecologists have warned.

From BBC ● May 18, 2025

“If I were to make a prediction, I would envisage a growing fraction of the Peninsula’s landscape becoming dominated by a mosaic ecosystem of mosses, lichens, liverworts and fungi,” Roland said.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2024

Algae, pollen and lichens do accumulate in shady areas.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2024

“More lichens grow on one side of the frost heaves than on the other.”

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

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