What is a organism made of a fungus and green algae or a cyanobacteria?

Answer 1

lichen

Answer 2

The answer is Lichen.

Lichens are plant like organisms composed of a mixture of algae cells and fungi cells mixed together and growing together forming a mutually beneficial relationship.

Have you have ever seen grey wrinkled patches growing or a tree trunk ? If so that was almost certainty lichens.

I have a bit more info on these plant like growths and other primitive plant like growths at (See related Link)

They are not parasites of each other, it is a symbiotic relationship. In other words both the algae and the fungi benefit from the living arrangement.

In most or all cases the mixture is composed primarily of fungi, the fungi provides a moist comfortable environment for delicate moisture loving algae cells to grow in. The fungi also helps break down the substrate that is it growing on, in some cases it grows on rocks, in others it grows on living or dead trees. As the substrate it grows on is very slowly broken down by the fungi, the nutrients in that substrate becomes available to the algae and fungi. Algae in turn produces sugars and other carbohydrates that it likely shares with the fungi.

Keep your eyes open and no matter what part of the world you live in you may find lichens.

The truth is their are likely many benefits to the algae and fungi that we do not yet know about.

One interesting thing about lichens is that they are able to grow in many environments for example:

I have observed them to grow in abundance in saltwater mangrove swamps as well as in fresh water cypress swamps in Florida.

A thick mossy looking type grows in the cold dry artic circle where it is known as reindeer moss where it is eating by reindeer.

And when I was in Utah for a week I found it growing in abundance on bare rocks in that hot bone dry desert.

Answer 3

doodle

It is called Lichen

Answer 4

Lichen

Answer 5

Lichen.

Answer 6

Lichen