lichenes

2 definitions found

lichenes - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Lichen \Li"chen\ (l[imac]"k[e^]n; 277), n. [L., fr. Gr.
     leichh`n.]
     1. (Bot.) One of a class of cellular, flowerless plants,
        (technically called Lichenes), having no distinction of
        leaf and stem, usually of scaly, expanded, frond-like
        forms, but sometimes erect or pendulous and variously
        branched. They derive their nourishment from the air, and
        generate by means of spores. The species are very widely
        distributed, and form irregular spots or patches, usually
        of a greenish or yellowish color, upon rocks, trees, and
        various bodies, to which they adhere with great tenacity.
        They are often improperly called rock moss or tree  moss
        .
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: A favorite modern theory of lichens (called after its
           inventor the Schwendener hypothesis), is that they are
           not autonomous plants, but that they consist of
           ascigerous fungi, parasitic on alg[ae]. Each lichen is
           composed of white filaments and green, or greenish,
           rounded cells, and it is argued that the two are of
           different nature, the one living at the expense of the
           other. See Hyph[ae], and Gonidia.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Med.) A name given to several varieties of skin disease,
        esp. to one characterized by the eruption of small,
        conical or flat, reddish pimples, which, if unchecked,
        tend to spread and produce great and even fatal
        exhaustion.
        [1913 Webster]

lichenes - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  Lichenes
      n 1: comprising the lichens which grow symbiotically with algae;
           sometimes treated as an independent group more or less
           coordinate with algae and fungi [syn: Lichenes, division Lichenes
           ]