[neilep (OP)]

Dearest Lichenologists and Luffers Of Lichen,

Lichen is my all time favourite weird planty thing that grows on statues in cemeteries and rocks and trees and stuff !

Look, here’s some yellow lichen !


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Nice eh ?...available in a variety of colours at your nearest Lichen Supermarket !



How does baby Lichen get made ?...It’s not as if  it gets around much !..it just kinda sits there existing at something like 0.000000000006mph !...I would not employ Lichen to deliver my pizzas or emergency supplies !


So, with lichen staying where it’s at, how does it do the deed ?


Hugs & Shmishes



Neil
“hang him, hang him”..leader of the Lichen Mob *groan*
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[JimBob]

Perhaps we should lichen you, hummmm?

Weeeeeell, to start with lichens are not a single organism. Any dumb arse knows that. They are symbiotic or possibly parasitic relationships between fungi and algae - a specific fungi and a specific algae for each, except where there are two algae involved in a ménage �  trois with a fungi. So the reproductive organisms should be simple, right - au contraire, mon ami.

I am WAAAY too lazy to explain all of the technicalities but to make it simple they either vegitatively reproduce - grow a new lichen from a piece broken off of the "parent" lichen or the fungus, which "hosts" the algae, produces spores that contain both the fungi and algae for the particular lichen that is reproducing. There is even a form of reproduction similar to sexual reproduction. That is where it gets complicated and the reader may refer to Wikipedia if they care to - and if it is explained. They probably do. Mycologists are rather fascinated with reproduction for some strange reason.

I had to look this up in my archaic, 20 pound "Invertebrate Zoology," published WAY before DNA supplanted the Linnaeun classification. Thus, there may be newer info out there. I will not resort to Wikipedia on subjects I should know. I'll look it up in a book. I DO have principals.  []

(That is an intentional mis-spelling for the illiterate out there, i.e., a joke. It is so tiring to need explain one's self all the time - sigh!)

[neilep (OP)]

Just over a month late, but I wanted to thank Mr (I-Survived-The-Last-Asteroid-Impact) JimBob for this great answer.