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C Test
A spot test in lichenology is a spot analysis used to help identify lichens. It is performed by placing a drop of a chemical reagent on different parts of the lichen and noting the colour change (or lack thereof) associated with application of the chemical. The tests are routinely encountered in dichotomous keys for lichen species, and they take advantage of the wide array of lichen products (secondary metabolites) produced by lichens and their uniqueness among taxa. As such, spot tests reveal the presence or absence of chemicals in various parts of a lichen. They were first proposed as a method to help identify species by the Finnish lichenologist William Nylander (botanist), William Nylander in 1866. Three common spot tests use either 10% aqueous potassium hydroxide, KOH solution (K test), saturated aqueous solution of bleaching powder or calcium hypochlorite (C test), or 5% alcoholic p-phenylenediamine, ''p''-phenylenediamine solution (P test). The colour changes occur due to pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lichenology
Lichenology is the branch of mycology that studies the lichens, symbiotic organisms made up of an intimate symbiotic association of a microscopic alga (or a cyanobacterium) with a Hypha, filamentous fungus. Lichens are chiefly characterized by this symbiosis. Study of lichens draws knowledge from several disciplines: mycology, phycology, microbiology and botany. Scholars of lichenology are known as lichenologists. Study of lichens is conducted by both professional and amateur lichenologists. Methods for species identification include reference to single-access keys on lichens. An example reference work is ''Lichens of North America'' (2001) by Irwin M. Brodo, Sylvia Sharnoff and Stephen Sharnoff and that book's 2016 expansion, ''Keys to Lichens of North America: Revised and Expanded'' by the same three authors joined by Susan Laurie-Bourque. A chemical spot test (lichen), spot test can be used to detect the presence of certain lichen products which can be characteristic of a gi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
