instance_of pleomassariaceae
A lichen is a composite ___MASK51___ that arises from algae and / or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi in a symbiotic relationship . The combined life form has properties that are very different from the properties of its component organisms . Lichens come in many colours , sizes , and forms . The properties are sometimes plant - like , but lichens are not plants . Lichens may have tiny , leafless branches ( fruticose ), flat leaf - like structures ( foliose ), flakes that lie on the surface like peeling paint ( crustose ), or other growth forms . A macrolichen is a lichen that is either bush - like or leafy ; all other lichens are termed microlichens . Here , " macro " and " micro " do not refer to size , but to the growth form . Common names for lichens may contain the word " moss " ( e . g ., " Reindeer moss ", " Iceland moss "), and lichens may superficially look like and grow with mosses , but lichens are not related to mosses or any plant . Lichens do not have roots that absorb water and nutrients as plants do but like plants they produce their own food by photosynthesis using solar energy , from carbon dioxide , water and minerals in their environment . When they grow on plants , they do not live as parasites but instead use the plants as a substrate . Wheat (" ___MASK94___ " spp ., most commonly " T . aestivum ") is a ___MASK27___ grain ( botanically , a type of fruit called a caryopsis ), originally from the Levant region but now cultivated worldwide . In 2016 , world production of wheat was 749 million tonnes , making it the second most - produced ___MASK27___ after maize ( ___MASK80___ . 03 billion tonnes ), with more than rice ( 499 million tonnes ). Since 1960 , world production of wheat and other grain crops has tripled and is expected to grow further through the middle of the 21st Century . Phaeosphaeria nodorum ( ___MASK24___ and correct taxonomic name : Parastagonospora nodorum ) is a major fungal pathogen of wheat ( ___MASK94___ aestivum ) and a ___MASK5___ of the Dothideomycetes , a large fungal ___MASK52___ that includes many important plant pathogens affecting all major crop plant families . Dothideomycetes is the largest and most diverse ___MASK89___ of ascomycete fungi . It comprises 11 orders 90 families , 1300 genera and over 19 , 000 known ___MASK48___ . Traditionally , most of its members were included in the loculoascomycetes , which is not ___MASK64___ of the currently accepted ___MASK23___ . This indicates that several traditional morphological features in the ___MASK89___ are not unique and DNA sequence comparisons are important to define the ___MASK89___ . An endophyte is an endosymbiont , often a bacterium or fungus , that lives within a ___MASK18___ for at least ___MASK64___ of its life cycle without causing apparent disease . Endophytes are ubiquitous and have been found in all species of plants studied to date ; however , most of the endophyte / ___MASK18___ relationships are not well understood . Endophytes are also known to occur within lichens and algae . Many economically important grasses ( e . g ., " Festuca " spp . and " Lolium " spp .) carry fungal endophytes in ___MASK38___ " Epichloë ", some of which may enhance host growth , nutrient acquisition and may improve the ___MASK18___ ' s ability to tolerate abiotic stresses , such as drought , and enhance resistance to insects , ___MASK18___ pathogens and mammalian herbivores . The Pleomassariaceae are a ___MASK40___ of fungi in the ___MASK55___ Pleosporales . Taxa have a widespread distribution in both temperate and tropical regions , and are saprobic or necrotrophic on wood , bark , and other herbaceous material . The Pleosporales is the largest ___MASK55___ in the fungal class Dothideomycetes . By a 2008 estimate it contains 23 families , 332 genera and more than 4700 species . The majority of species are saprobes on decaying plant material in fresh ___MASK96___ , marine , or terrestrial environments , but several species are also associated with living plants as parasites , epiphytes or endophytes . The best studied species cause plant diseases on important agricultural crops e . g . " Cochliobolus heterostrophus ", causing southern corn leaf blight on maize , " Phaeosphaeria nodorum " (" Stagonospora nodorum ") causing glume blotch on wheat and " Leptosphaeria maculans " causing a stem canker ( called blackleg ) on cabbage crops (" Brassica "). Some species of Pleosporales occur on animal dung and a small number occur as lichens and rock - inhabiting fungi . Brassica is a ___MASK38___ of plants in the mustard family , the ( Brassicaceae ). The members of the ___MASK38___ are informally known as cruciferous vegetables , cabbages , or mustard plants . Crops from this ___MASK38___ are sometimes called " cole crops " derived from the Latin " caulis ", denoting the stem or stalk of a plant . Cochliobolus heterostrophus is a fungal ___MASK18___ pathogen . It can ___MASK65___ Southern corn ___MASK69___ blight in Maize . Leptosphaeria maculans ( anamorph " Phoma lingam ") is a fungal pathogen of the phylum ___MASK6___ that is the causal agent of blackleg ___MASK21___ on " Brassica " crops . Symptoms of blackleg generally include basal stem cankers , small grey lesions on leaves , and root rot . The major yield loss is due to stem canker . The fungus is dispersed by the ___MASK29___ as ascospores or rain splash in the case of the conidia . " L . maculans " grows best in wet conditions and a temperature range of 5  20 degrees Celsius . Rotation of crops , removal of stubble , ___MASK33___ of fungicide , and crop resistance are all used to manage blackleg . The fungus is an important pathogen of " Brassica napus " ( canola ) crops . Maize (; " Zea mays " subsp . " mays ", from after Taíno " mahiz "), also known as corn , is a large grain ___MASK18___ first domesticated by ___MASK45___ in Mexico about 10 , 000 years ago . The ___MASK61___ major types of corn are dent corn , flint corn , pod corn , popcorn , flour corn , and sweet corn . An epiphyte is a ___MASK18___ that grows harmlessly upon another ___MASK18___ ( such as a ___MASK4___ ) and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air , rain , and sometimes from debris accumulating around it . Epiphytes differ from parasites in that epiphytes grow on other plants for physical support and do not necessarily negatively affect the host . An epiphytic ___MASK51___ that is not a ___MASK18___ is called an epibiont . Epiphytes are usually found in the temperate zone ( e . g ., many mosses , liverworts , lichens , and algae ) or in the tropics ( e . g ., many ferns , cacti , orchids , and bromeliads ). Epiphyte species make good houseplants due to their minimal water and soil requirements . Epiphytes provide a rich and diverse habitat for other organisms including animals , fungi , bacteria , and myxomycetes . In ___MASK1___ , a ___MASK48___ ( abbreviated sp ., with the plural form ___MASK48___ abbreviated spp .) is the basic unit of ___MASK71___ and a taxonomic rank . A ___MASK48___ is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile ___MASK41___ , typically by sexual reproduction . While this definition is often adequate , looked at more closely it is often problematic . For example , in a ___MASK48___ complex , the boundaries between closely related ___MASK48___ become unclear or disappear altogether . Other ways of defining ___MASK48___ include similarity of DNA , morphology , or ecological niche . The presence of locally adaptive traits may further subdivide ___MASK48___ into infraspecific taxa such as subspecies .