Fig. 65. Ramalina siliquosa A. L. Sm., on rocks, reduced (M. P., Photo.).
Several Ramalinae—R. siliquosa, R. Curnowii, etc.—grow on rocks, often in extremely exposed situations, in isolated tufts or in crowded swards ([Fig. 65]). The separate tufts are not unfrequently connected at the base by a crustaceous thallus. It is possible also to see on the rock, here and there, small areas of compact thalline granules that have scarcely begun to put out the upright fronds. These granules are corticate on the upper surface and contain gonidia; from the lower surface, slender branching hyphae in rhizoid-like strands penetrate down between the inequalities and separable particles of the rock, if the formation is granitic. They frequently have groups of gonidia associated with them, and they continue to ramify and spread, the pure white filaments often enough enclosing morsels of the rock. The upright fronds are continuous with the base and are thus securely anchored to the substratum.
On a smooth rock surface such as quartzite a continuous sward of Ramalina growth is impossible. The basal hyphae being unable to penetrate the even surface of the rock, the attachment is slight and the plants are easily dislodged. They do however succeed, sometimes, in taking hold, and small groups of fronds arise from a crustaceous base which varies in depth from ·5 to 1 mm. The tissues of this base are very irregularly arranged: towards the upper surface loose hyphae with scattered groups of algae are traversed by strands of gelatinized sclerotic hyphae similar to the strengthening tissues of the upright fronds, while down below there are to be found not only slender hyphae, but a layer of gonidia visible as a white and green film on the rock when the overlying particles are scaled off.
Darbishire[388] found that attachment to the substratum by means of a basal sheath was characteristic of all the genera of Roccellaceae. He looks on this sheath, which is the first stage in the development of the plant, as a primary or proto-thallus, analogous to the primary squamules of the Cladoniae, and he carries the analogy still further by treating the upright fronds as podetia. The sheath of the Roccellaceae varies in size but it is always of very limited extent; it is mainly composed of medullary hyphae, and gonidia may or may not be present. The whole structure is permanent and important, and is generally protected by a well-developed upper cortex similar in structure to that of the upright thallus, i.e. of a fastigiate type. There is no lower cortex.
The two British species of Roccella—R. fuciformis and R. phycopsis—grow on maritime rocks, the latter also occasionally on trees. In R. fuciformis, the attaching sheath is a flat structure which slopes up a little round the base of the upright frond. It is about 2 mm. thick, the cortex occupying about 40 µ of that space; a few scattered gonidia are present immediately below. The remaining tissue of the sheath is composed of firmly wefted slender filaments. Towards the lower surface, there is a more closely compacted dark brown layer from which pass out the hyphae that penetrate the rock.
The sheath of R. phycopsis is a small structure about 3 to 4 mm. in width and 1·5 mm. thick. A few gonidia may be found below the dense cortical layer, but they tend to disappear as the upright fronds become larger and the shade, in consequence, more dense. Lower down the hyphae take an intensely yellow hue; mixed with them are also some brown filaments. A somewhat larger sheath 7 to 8 mm. wide forms the base of R. tinctoria. In structure it corresponds—as do those of the other species—with the ones already described.
In purely filamentous species such as Usnea there is also primary sheath formation: the medullary hyphae spread out in radiating strands which force their way wherever possible into the underlying substance; on trees they enter into any chink or crevice of the outer bark like wedges; or they ramify between the cork cells which are split up by the mere growth pressure. By the vertical increase of the base, the fronds may be hoisted up and an intercalary basal portion may arise lacking both gonidia and cortical layer. Very frequently several bases are united and the lichen appears to be of tufted habit.
A basal sheath provides a similar firm attachment for Alectoria jubata and allied species: these are slender mostly dark brown lichens which hang in tangled filaments from the branches of trees, rocks, etc.