Knowra Soredium Soredium A soredium is a small lichen propagule made of fungal hyphae and photosynthetic cells, usually an alga or cyanobacterium. It can disperse and grow into a new lichen.
Lichen : A stable association between a fungus and photosynthetic partners, usually algae or cyanobacteria. Soredia are propagules produced by lichens and carry components of this partnership.
Alga : A diverse group of mostly aquatic, photosynthetic organisms that lack the complex tissues of land plants. Many soredia contain algal cells as their photosynthetic component.
Isidium : A small outgrowth of a lichen thallus containing fungal hyphae and photosynthetic cells. Unlike soredia, isidia are organized outgrowths with a cortex and often a narrower attachment.
Lichenometry : A dating method that estimates the age of exposed surfaces from the size of lichens growing on them. Soredial dispersal can affect how and where lichen colonies establish on dated surfaces.
Photobiont : A photosynthetic organism that lives in association with another organism, such as the alga or cyanobacterium in a lichen. Each soredium includes photosynthetic cells that can supply carbon to the developing lichen.
Cyanobacteria : A group of bacteria that perform oxygen-producing photosynthesis. Some lichens incorporate cyanobacteria, which can be carried in soredia.
Lichen ascospore : A sexual spore produced by the fungal partner of a lichen, typically inside an ascus. An ascospore disperses the fungus alone, unlike a soredium carrying a photobiont too.
Lichen identification : The classification of lichens using features such as growth form, reproductive structures, and chemistry. The presence and form of soredia are useful characters in identifying lichen species.
Fungal hypha : A branching filament that forms the structural and absorptive network of a fungus. Hyphae in a soredium carry the fungal partner into a new site.
Lichen thallus : The vegetative body of a lichen, formed by the fungus and its photosynthetic partner. Soredia develop from the lichen body and contain cells from its partners.
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