Fink: Nature and Classification of Lichens 251 



ment will ever establish itself in which complexity is offered in 

 place of simplicity. I can illustrate this point with what seems to 

 me an essentially parallel case to the one in point. Certain of the 

 bacteria are so close to the blue green algae as to be very near 

 relatives, perhaps even species of the same genus, but as a matter 

 of practice the science of bacteriology is not likely to confuse its 

 system of classification of the organisms with which it deals by 

 combining the Schizomycetes with the Cyanophyceae. Morpholo- 

 gist, Cryptogamist, 2 (i 2 ). 



Quotation 19 



If we compare lichens with parasites growing on other plants, 

 such, for instance, as the mistletoe on the apple-tree, or Perono- 

 spora on some herbaceous plant, it then, of course, is absurd to 

 think of naming the ensemble of host and parasite as one thing, 

 but here there is a question only of simple parasitism. I do not 

 see why we might not with more justice liken the symbiotic forms 

 called lichens to the mixed rocks, where as in granite we have, for 

 instance, varying proportions of quartz, mica and feldspar, and 

 although we know perfectly well that the compound which we call 

 granite is composed of these elements, and we can see these ele- 

 ments in it, we still speak of the mass as granite, and so of pud- 

 dingstone and other rocks. I do not see that any harm would 

 result from continuing the old method of designating lichens under 

 the lichen name with such modifications as would express the new 

 knowledge. Why would it not be possible to write after the 

 binominal Latin name of the Lichen the Latin name of the fungus 

 involved, followed by the Latin name of the alga, the two being 

 separated by a plus sign and the whole enclosed by a parenthesis. 



( + ). This would show 



at a glance what the ordinary student wants, namely, some name 

 for that particular looking compound which he finds on rocks, 

 trees, etc., and at the same time would furnish the scientific man 

 all the data known respecting the two organisms forming the 

 union. In case the fungus is known but the alga uncertain, or 

 the alga known and the fungus uncertain, it would be very easy 

 to introduce general statements within the parenthesis, e. g., 



