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<title>Lithophyte</title>

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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithophyte</span></span>

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<p><b>Lithophytes</b> are <a href="Plants" class="mw-redirect" title="Plants">plants</a> that grow in or on <a href="Rock_(geology)" title="Rock (geology)">rocks</a>. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are also referred to as chasmophytes).<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Lithophytes can also be classified as being either obligate or facultative. Obligate lithophytes grow solely on rocks, while facultative lithophytes will grow partially on a rock and on another substrate simultaneously.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Nutrients">Nutrients</h2></div>

<p>Lithophytes that grow on land feed off nutrients from rain water and nearby decaying plants, including their own dead tissue. It is easier for <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chasmophyte" class="extiw external" title="wikt:chasmophyte">chasmophytes</a> to acquire nutrients because they grow in fissures in rocks where soil or organic matter has accumulated.

</p><p>For most lithophytes, <a href="Nitrogen" title="Nitrogen">nitrogen</a> is only available through interactions with the atmosphere. The most readily available form of nitrogen in the atmosphere is the gaseous state of <a href="Ammonia" title="Ammonia">ammonia</a> (NH<sub>3</sub>). Lithophytes consume atmospheric ammonia through a concentration gradient that allows the compound to traverse the plants' <a href="Apoplast" title="Apoplast">apoplast</a>. Once free in the apoplast, gaseous ammonia is absorbed into metabolic cells by the enzyme <a href="Glutamine_synthetase" title="Glutamine synthetase">glutamine synthetase</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p><p>To be able to absorb the few nutrients available on rocks or rocky substrates efficiently, lithophytes have evolved certain adaptations. They possess decreased numbers of root hairs and larger root diameters in comparison to other plant species. To add to this nutrient uptake efficiency, lithophytic plants have increased their relationship with <a href="Arbuscular_mycorrhizal" class="mw-redirect" title="Arbuscular mycorrhizal">arbuscular mycorrhizal</a> fungi and <a href="Dark_septate_endophyte" title="Dark septate endophyte">dark septate endophyte</a> fungi. These two types of fungi live inter- and intracellularly with the roots of lithophytes and a wide variety of other plant species. They increase the uptake of nutrients and water and have been found in greater concentrations in lithophytes.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Walls_colonised_as_artificial_cliffs_by_lithophytes">Walls colonised as artificial cliffs by lithophytes</h2></div>

<blockquote><p> Walls, and other exposed stonework, are colonised by plants in a similar way to the colonisation of <a href="Cliff" title="Cliff">cliffs</a> and <a href="Scree" title="Scree">scree</a>. These natural features are uncommon, especially in the lowlands, so walls are important for the conservation of plants which might otherwise be very isolated. Some wall plants even have 'wall' or 'muralis' as part of their common or scientific name such as wall-flower (<i><a href="Erysimum_cheiri" title="Erysimum cheiri">Erysimum cheiri</a></i>) or ivy-leaved toadflax (<i><a href="Cymbalaria_muralis" title="Cymbalaria muralis">Cymbalaria muralis</a></i>), which shows their long established relationship with these man-made structures.<br><br><a href="English_Heritage" title="English Heritage">English Heritage</a><br><i>Landscape Advice Note: Vegetation on Walls</i> <sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Examples">Examples</h2></div>

<p>Examples of lithophytes include many <a href="Orchids" class="mw-redirect" title="Orchids">orchids</a> such as <i><a href="Dendrobium" title="Dendrobium">Dendrobium</a></i> and <i><a href="Paphiopedilum" title="Paphiopedilum">Paphiopedilum</a></i>, <a href="Bromeliaceae" title="Bromeliaceae">bromeliads</a> such as <i><a href="Tillandsia" title="Tillandsia">Tillandsia</a></i>, as well as many <a href="Fern" title="Fern">ferns</a>, <a href="Algae" title="Algae">algae</a> and <a href="Liverwort" title="Liverwort">liverworts</a>. Lithophytes have also been found in many other plant families, such as, <a href="Liliaceae" title="Liliaceae">Liliaceae</a>, <a href="Amaryllidaceae" title="Amaryllidaceae">Amaryllidaceae</a>, <a href="Begoniaceae" title="Begoniaceae">Begoniaceae</a>, <a href="Caprifoliaceae" title="Caprifoliaceae">Caprifoliaceae</a>, <a href="Crassulaceae" title="Crassulaceae">Crassulaceae</a>, <a href="Piperaceae" title="Piperaceae">Piperaceae</a> and <a href="Selaginellaceae" class="mw-redirect" title="Selaginellaceae">Selaginellaceae</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Carnivorous_plants">Carnivorous plants</h3></div>

<p>As nutrients tend to be rarely available to lithophytes or chasmophytes, many species of <a href="Carnivorous_plants" class="mw-redirect" title="Carnivorous plants">carnivorous plants</a> can be viewed as being <a href="Preadaptation" class="mw-redirect" title="Preadaptation">pre-adapted</a> to life on rocks. By consuming prey, these plants can gather more nutrients than non-carnivorous lithophytes.<sup id="cite_ref-Habitat_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Habitat-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Examples include the <a href="Pitcher_plant" title="Pitcher plant">pitcher plants</a> <i><a href="Nepenthes_campanulata" title="Nepenthes campanulata">Nepenthes campanulata</a></i> and <i><a href="Heliamphora_exappendiculata" title="Heliamphora exappendiculata">Heliamphora exappendiculata</a></i>, many <i><a href="Pinguicula" title="Pinguicula">Pinguicula</a></i> and several <i><a href="Utricularia" title="Utricularia">Utricularia</a></i> species.

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Tennyson_poem_inspired_by_lithophyte">Tennyson poem inspired by lithophyte</h2></div>

<p>In the year 1863, <a href="Alfred%2C_Lord_Tennyson" title="Alfred, Lord Tennyson">Alfred, Lord Tennyson</a> was moved to write his short and pithy poem of <a href="Metaphysics" title="Metaphysics">metaphysical</a> speculation

<a href="Flower_in_the_Crannied_Wall" title="Flower in the Crannied Wall">Flower in the Crannied Wall</a> upon contemplating an unnamed lithophyte growing out of the masonry of the <a href="Wishing_well" title="Wishing well">wishing well</a> at <a href="Ludshott_Common_and_Waggoners_Wells" title="Ludshott Common and Waggoners Wells">Waggoners Wells</a>. <sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<p>Flower in the crannied wall,<br>

I pluck you out of the crannies,<br>

I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,<br>

Little flower—but if I could understand<br>

What you are, root and all, and all in all,<br>

I should know what God and man is.<sup id="cite_ref-Parsons_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Parsons-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Gallery">Gallery</h2></div>

<div class="gallerytext"><i><a href="Erinus_alpinus" title="Erinus alpinus">Erinus alpinus</a></i>, the fairy foxglove, growing out of a crack in the <a href="Mortar_(masonry)" title="Mortar (masonry)">mortar</a> of a stone wall </div>

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<div class="gallerytext"><a href="Pyrrosia_rupestris" title="Pyrrosia rupestris">Rock Felt Fern</a>, <a href="Elkhorn_fern" class="mw-redirect" title="Elkhorn fern">Elkhorn fern</a>, <a href="Asplenium_australasicum" title="Asplenium australasicum">Birds Nest Fern</a> and <a href="Moss" title="Moss">moss</a> growing on <a href="Hawkesbury_Sandstone" class="mw-redirect" title="Hawkesbury Sandstone">Hawkesbury Sandstone</a> at <a href="Chatswood_West" title="Chatswood West">Chatswood West</a>, <a href="Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a></div>

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<ul><li><a href="Epibiont" title="Epibiont">Epibiont</a>, an organism that grows on another life form</li>

<li><a href="Epiphyte" title="Epiphyte">Epiphyte</a></li>

<li><a href="Endosymbiont" title="Endosymbiont">Endosymbiont</a></li>

<li><a href="Epiphytic_fungus" title="Epiphytic fungus">Epiphytic fungus</a></li>

<li><a href="Epiphytic_bacteria" title="Epiphytic bacteria">Epiphytic bacteria</a></li>

<li><a href="Foliicolous" title="Foliicolous">Foliicolous</a></li></ul>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>

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</style><cite id="CITEREFChristyThomas2020" class="citation journal cs1">Christy, Arun; Thomas, Binu (June 26, 2020). <span class="id-lock-subscription" title="Paid subscription required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/download/4554/6860?inline=1">"Phytodiversity of Chasmophytic Habitats at Olichuchattam Waterfalls, Kerala, India"</a></span>. <i>Journal of Threatened Taxa</i>. <b>12</b> (9): <span class="nowrap">16099–</span>16109. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.11609%2Fjott.4554.12.9.16099-16109">10.11609/jott.4554.12.9.16099-16109</a></span>.</cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-:0-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:0_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFMuthukumarChinnathambiPriyadharsini2016" class="citation journal cs1">Muthukumar, Thangavelu; Chinnathambi, Marimuthu; Priyadharsini, Perumalsamy (July 11, 2016). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1590%2F0102-33062016abb0074">"Root fungal associations in some non-orchidaceous vascular lithophytes"</a>. <i>Acta Botanica Brasilica</i>. <b>30</b> (3): <span class="nowrap">407–</span>421. <a href="Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AcBBr..30..407M">2016AcBBr..30..407M</a>. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1590%2F0102-33062016abb0074">10.1590/0102-33062016abb0074</a></span>.</cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFTozerHackellMiersSilvester2005" class="citation journal cs1">Tozer, W.C.; Hackell, D.; Miers, D.B.; Silvester, W.B. (2005). "Extreme Isotopic Depletion of Nitrogen in New Zealand Lithophytes and Epiphytes; the Result of Diffusive Uptake of Atmospheric Ammonia?". <i>Oecologia</i>. <b>144</b> (4): <span class="nowrap">628–</span>635. <a href="Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005Oecol.144..628T">2005Oecol.144..628T</a>. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00442-005-0098-0">10.1007/s00442-005-0098-0</a>. <a href="PMID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="PMID (identifier)">PMID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15891815">15891815</a>.</cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="English_Heritage" title="English Heritage">English Heritage</a> <i>Landscape Advice Note: Vegetation on Walls</i> <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/siteassets/home/learn/conservation/gardens-and-landscapes/lan_-_vegetation_on_walls.pdf">https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/siteassets/home/learn/conservation/gardens-and-landscapes/lan_-_vegetation_on_walls.pdf</a> Retrieved at 14.55 on Thursday 21/7/22</span>

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<li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFAngalanReyesGomez2014" class="citation journal cs1">Angalan, Norbert; Reyes, Gaudelia; Gomez, Romeo (2014). "Ture Measure of Lithophytes Diversity Across Microclimates". <i>Journal of Natural Studies</i>. <b>13</b>.</cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-Habitat-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Habitat_6-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">McPherson, S.R. (2010). <i>Carnivorous Plants and their Habitats. Volume 1.</i> Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 176–180.</span>

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<li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFFiske1899" class="citation book cs1">Fiske, John (1899). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=tmVdwWmNXnEC&pg=GBS.PA178&hl=en"><i>Through Nature to God</i></a>. Houghton, Mifflin.</cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-Parsons-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Parsons_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson.</i> Eugene Parsons (Introduction). New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1900.</span>

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