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lichen
The definition of a lichen is a plant found on rocks or trees made of both a specific fungus and a specific algae that help one another.
(noun)An example of a lichen is the colored patch growing on a tree branch.
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See lichen in Webster's New World College Dictionary
noun
- any of various small plants composed of a particular fungus and a particular alga growing in an intimate symbiotic association and forming a dual plant, commonly adhering in colored patches or spongelike branches to rock, wood, soil, etc.
- any of various skin diseases characterized by papules and enlarged skin markings
Origin: L < Gr leichēn, prob. < leichein, to lick
transitive verb
to cover with lichens
See lichen in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
- A fungus, usually of the class Ascomycetes, that grows symbiotically with algae, resulting in a composite organism that characteristically forms a crustlike or branching growth on rocks or tree trunks.
- Pathology Any of various skin diseases characterized by patchy eruptions of small, firm papules.
To cover with lichens.
Origin:
Origin: Latin līchēn, a kind of plant
Origin: , from Greek leikhēn
Origin: , from leikhein, to lick; see leigh- in Indo-European roots
.Related Forms:
- liˈchen·ous adjective
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