fruticose
/ˈfruːtɪkoʊs/
adjective
- Having a shrubby, bushy, or branching growth form, used especially to describe certain lichens that grow upright like tiny shrubs.
- Fruticose lichens, like reindeer moss, form miniature branching structures on the forest floor.
- Hikers often see fruticose lichens hanging from tree branches in damp forests.
- The fruticose growth of the lichen made it look like a tiny coral reef on the rock.