8 FLOWERLESS PLANTS 



adopted depending to an extent upon the 

 seasons, or the circumstances in which the 

 plant is Uving. 



As a class of plants the lichens wall always 

 be of pecuhar interest in that they represent 

 an alliance between the algae and the fungi. 

 Every Uchen is composed of a fungus, which 

 we may say is parasitic on a collection of algas 

 which it embraces. The dual character of these 

 growths deserves a more lengthy treatment 

 than can be accorded in an opening chapter. 

 The chief method of reproduction to be observed 

 in the case of the hchens enables the botanist 

 to classify these plants as true fungi. In the 

 case of those plants which are more commonly 

 spoken of as fungi we are faced with an enor- 

 mous group, evincing a vast range of form and 

 habit. All these plants have one marked 

 feature : they show no trace of the green 

 matter (chlorophyll) which enables other plants 

 to secure their carbon from the atmosphere. 

 Thus all fungi must hve upon some other 

 organism, which may be in either a hving or a 

 dead state. In the former instance the plant 

 is, of course, a parasite, whilst in the latter 

 case it is usual to employ the word saprophyte 



