Lava Beds National Monument - Lichens

There are five species of lichens in the monument. They are commonly found growing on recent lava flows and older trees. A lichen is an unusual organism because it is not just one organism, but two organisms that live together in symbiosis. The first is a fungus composed of stringy filaments, and living within these filaments are algae- usually a species of green algae, or cyanobacterium.