DictionaryRoot: leichen
Greek

leichen

tree-moss, lichen

1 / 1
A close view of a gray rock bearing distinctive pale sage-green leafy lichen rosettes and a small ochre crustose patch, with bare stone visible between colonies.
noun

lichen

LYE-kuhn/ˈlaɪkən/

An organism formed by a fungus living together with algae or cyanobacteria.

Etymology

Greek leichen originally meant “what eats around itself,” probably connected with leichein, “to lick.” The name thus presents the organism through an image of eating around itself.

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