Cladonia cristatella
Copyright, Tom Volk, TomVolkFungi.net
British Soldiers is a
lichen
which gets its name from its resemblance to the uniforms
worn by English soldiers during the Revolutionary War. A
lichen is not just one organism,
but a fungus
and algae
living together to form a new organism. The fungus in British
Soldiers is called Cladonia cristatella. The algae is
known as Trebouxia erici. Because lichens take the
name of the fungus part of the relationship, British
Soldiers is also known as Cladonia
cristatella. Copyright, Tom Volk,
TomVolkFungi.net Each part of the lichen
appears to help the other. The fungus provides the algae
with a "house" to live in, and the algae makes food for the
fungus. Each organism could live on its own, but they seem
to do much better together. The algae can also form lichens
with other species of fungi, but the fungus cannot make a
lichen with any algae other than Trebouxia
erici. The main body of a lichen
is called a "thallus." You can only have a thallus when the
fungus and algae have joined. The bright colors of British
Soldiers would not be there if the fungus was alone; instead
it would look like a white blob. The red part of British
Soldiers makes spores.
Spores are a lot like seeds from plants, in that they can
travel by wind and start a new fungus. The new fungus will
not become British Soldiers, though, until the algae joins
it. There are many different
species of lichens, but there are three main types.
"Foliose" lichens look like leaves. "Crustose" lichens look
flat and crusty. "Frutose" lichens stand upright or hang
down. Frutose lichens also tend to have bright colors.
British Soldiers is a frutose lichen. British Soldiers, like
all lichens, grows very slowly. It grows one to two
millimeters each year. British Soldiers can
usually be found growing on decaying
wood, soil, mossy logs, tree bases, and stumps. Lichens help
break down old wood and put nutrients
back into the soil where they can be used by plants. Lichens
also take nitrogen from the air and put into the soil so
plants can use it. Plants cannot do this
themselves. Marie T. Trest, Wisconsin
State Herbarium Frances
Cardillo British Soldiers can
start making spores when they are about four years old.
Pieces of lichens that get broken off can also start making
a new lichen, if they are in the right
environment. Lichens provide
shelter
and cover
for small animals, like Water Bears, insects, and spiders.
Some animals that eat lichens include: White-tailed Deer,
Wild Turkey, Meadow Vole, springtails, oribatid mites, and
some terrestrial
snails. Michigan State
University
Copyright, CCFB/photo by Kent Loeffler