Mushrooms and Other Fungi

Frost, icicles and lichen cling to a rock
Lichen in Joshua Tree National Park

Lichens are a symbiosis between a fungus and a photobiont, an alga and/or a cyanobacterium

A colorful closeup of a cryptobiotic crust.
Cryptobiotic Crusts

Also known as desert glue, this layer of biotic organisms is hidden in plain sight on top of the soil!

Pieces of tape surround a lichen sample growing on a rock
Lichen as Bioindicators

Lichens are great bioindicators because they receive all their nutrients and water from atmospheric deposition (fall out).

Last updated: November 10, 2020

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74485 National Park Drive
Twentynine Palms, CA 92277-3597

Phone:

760 367-5500

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