''Ramalina farinacea'' is an

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

bushy shaped (

fruticose A fruticose lichen is a form of lichen fungi that is characterized by a coral-like shrubby or bushy growth structure. It is formed from a symbiotic relationship of a photobiont such as green algae or less commonly cyanobacteria and one, two or mor ...

)

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

, or

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

climates. It is in the genus ''

Ramalina ''Ramalina'' is a genus of greenish fruticose lichens that grow in the form of flattened, strap-like branches. Members of the genus are commonly called strap lichensField Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 201 ...

'' of the family Ramalinaceae.Two ''Trebouxia'' algae with different physiological performances are ever-present in lichen thalli of ''Ramalina farinacea''. Coexistence versus Competition?, Leonardo M. Casano, Eva M. del Campo,Francisco J. García-Breijo, José Reig-Armiñana, Francisco Gasulla, Alicia del Hoyo,Alfredo Guéra1,and Eva Barreno, Environmental Microbiology (2011) 13(3),

/ref> The coexistence of two ''different'' species of the ''

Trebouxia ''Trebouxia'' is a unicellular green alga.Silverside, A. J. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.bioref.lastdragon.org/Chlorophyta/''Trebouxia''.html It is a photosynthetic organism that can exist in almost all habitats found in polar, tropical, and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

green algae The green algae (singular: green alga) are a group consisting of the Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister which contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/Streptophyta. The land plants (Embryophytes) have emerged deep in the Charophyte alga as ...

at the same time were found to be in each specimen collected in widely distributed populations. The algae thrive in different temperature and light environments. It is thought this demonstrates an ability of the lichen with two simultaneous green algae partners to proliferate in a wider range of habitats and geographic areas. This lichen species is characterized by its long, narrow branches (less than 2 to 3 millimeters wide) and clearly defined marginal

soralia Soredia are common reproductive structures of lichens. Lichens reproduce asexually by employing simple fragmentation and production of soredia and isidia. Soredia are powdery propagules composed of fungal hyphae wrapped around cyanobacteria o ...

. It is most often found at low elevations on trees and shrubs.

References

farinacea Lichen species Lichens described in 1753 Lichens of Europe Lichens of North America Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Lecanorales-stub