Fruticose lichen

A lichen growth form with a branching or shrubby thallus attached to its substrate at a limited point. Its three-dimensional form can hang from branches or stand upright.

Lichen: A stable association between a fungus and a photosynthetic partner, usually an alga or cyanobacterium. Fruticose growth is one of the major body forms of lichens.
Usnea: A genus of pale, hairlike fruticose lichens, often called beard lichens. Its pendent branches make the shrubby growth form especially recognizable.
Lichen symbiosis: The persistent association between a lichen-forming fungus and one or more photosynthetic partners. The partners together construct and sustain the fruticose body.
Crustose lichen: A lichen growth form that forms a crust tightly attached across its substrate. Unlike fruticose lichens, crustose thalli are broadly attached and cannot be lifted intact.
Thallus: A plant-like body not differentiated into true roots, stems, and leaves. The branching or shrubby structure is the lichen's thallus.
Cladonia: A genus of lichens with primary squamules and often upright, cup-shaped or branched podetia. Many species form conspicuous upright structures from the ground or decaying wood.
Holdfast: A structure that anchors an organism to a surface without absorbing nutrients like a root. A limited attachment point distinguishes the fruticose thallus from broadly attached forms.
Foliose lichen: A lichen growth form with a flattened, leaflike thallus attached at multiple points. Its lobed, sheetlike body differs from the three-dimensional fruticose form.
Mycobiont: The fungal partner in a lichen association. The fungus forms most of the fruticose thallus's structure.
Ramalina: A genus of fruticose lichens with flattened or angular branching lobes. Its ribbonlike branches contrast with the cylindrical strands of many beard lichens.

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