Lichenological

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Concerning the branch of botany that studies lichens, the composite organisms formed by fungi and algae or cyanobacteria living together
2. Of or belonging to the scientific investigation of lichens, including their classification, structure, growth and ecology
3. Describing matters connected with the study of lichens as a field of biological science and its practitioners' research

Etymology: Lichenological is a technical coinage built from two pieces that each have a clear history. The base, "lichenology," is the study of lichens, the crusty, leafy, or shrubby organisms formed when a fungus and an alga or cyanobacterium live together as one body. The word "lichen" itself comes into English from Latin "lichen," borrowed from Greek "leichēn," which is the same term Greek writers used for the scaly skin disease and for the growths on rocks and trees alike. The ending "-ical" is a compound suffix, "-ic" plus "-al," that turns a noun into an adjective meaning "having to do with" the noun's field. Attaching it to "lichenology" produces "lichenological," the adjective for anything connected with that study, such as a lichenological survey, collection, or journal.