Australian National Botanic Gardens

Fungi lack chlorophyll and so are unable to make their own food. They are either saprophytes, which live off dead plants and animals, or parasites, which live off plants and animals.

Lichens

Lichens are very unusual in that they are made of two organisms - an alga and a fungus - living together in a mutually beneficial or symbiotic relationship. Lichens are the first conspicuous organisms to colonise bare rock surfaces.