A bryophilous lichen is one that grows on a bryophyte – that is, on a moss or liverwort.[1] Those which grow on mosses are known as muscicolous lichens,[2] while those grow on liverworts are called hepaticolous lichens.[3] Muscicolous derives from the Latin muscus meaning moss,[4] while the suffix colous means "living or growing in or on".[5] Lichens are slow-growing organisms, and so are far more likely to be overgrown by a bryophyte than to overgrow one.[6][7] However, they are better able to compete if the bryophyte is sickly or decaying and they can be parasitic upon them.[1][8][9] Some, rather than overgrowing the bryophyte, instead live among its branches.[9] Bryophilous lichens are particularly common in heathland and arctic or alpine tundra.[9] Because many are small and inconspicuous, they are easy to overlook.[1]

Citations

References

  • Brodo, Irwin M.; Sharnoff, Sylvia Duran; Sharnoff, Stephen (2001). Lichens of North America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-08249-4.
  • "Definition of -colous". Merriam-Webster. 2022b. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  • "Definition of musci". Merriam-Webster. 2022a. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  • McCarthy, P. M. (1989). "Observations on fragmentation and loss among lichen thalli". Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Section B: Biological, Geological, and Chemical Science. 89B: 25–32. JSTOR 20494485.
  • Nash, Thomas H. (2008). Lichen biology (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-41542-5. OCLC 252240732.
  • Ohmura, Yoshihito; Mayrhoffer, Helmut (June 2016). "Protothelenella sphinctrinoides (Protothelenellaceae) new to Japan and new chemical features for several species in the genus" (PDF). Herzogia. 29 (1): 137–142.
  • Smith, C. W.; Aptroot, A.; Coppins, B. J.; Fletcher, A.; Gilbert, O. L.; James, P. W.; Wolseley, P. A., eds. (2009). The Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland. London: The British Lichen Society. ISBN 978-0-9540418-8-5.


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