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Lobaria



Lobaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Suborder: Peltigerineae
Family: Lobariaceae
Genus: Lobaria
(Schreb.) Hoffm.
Species

Lobaria hallii
Lobaria linita
Lobaria pulmonata
Lobaria ravenelii
Lobaria retigera
Lobaria scorbiculata

Lobaria is a genus of lichens commonly known as "lungwort" or "lung moss" because their physical shape somewhat resembles a lung. Lobaria species are unusual in that they have a three-part symbiosis, containing a fungus, an alga and a cyanobacterium, the presence of the cyanobacterium allowing nitrogen fixation. Their sensitivity to toxins makes them an excellent marker of ecosystem health, and they are often found in ecological climax communities such as the old growth forests of northwestern North America.

Under the doctrine of signatures, Lobaria pulmonaria is sometimes used to treat respiratory infections, although there is no peer-reviewed data to support this.

 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lobaria". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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