I attended a lichen workshop at the High Park Nature Centre in Toronto, led by Troy McMullin from the Canadian Museum of Nature. We discussed basic features of lichens in High Park and in eastern Canada, and their role in the environment.
Distinct from fungi, and plants - lichen are creatures that may consist of alage and fungi together, or fungi and specially adapted cyano-bacteria. They are sometimes known as the “corals” of the forest, and can speak to the quality of the air wherever they are (or aren’t) found.
