Lichen. I love the stuff. I've examined it up close and personal. I have sought it out in literally every place I've ever been. Lying prostrate on the ground photographing it. Climbing rocks and trees to get as close as possible to the stuff. Lichen lives and grows on every continent, in every climate, in every extreme.
A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi in a symbiotic relationship.
The combined lichen has properties different from those 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.
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.
When they grow on plants, they do not live as parasites, but instead use the plants as a substrate.
I photographed this Lichen here in Cedar Key. It is very common here and can be found in abundance in cypress swamps.
Lichen. I've observed it from the forests of West Virginia to my home here in Florida. From Alaska to the Caribbean islands. From Maine to California. From Canada to Central and South America and many, many other places in between. And every single time I've seen it I've been captured by Lichen.
I'm drawn to it because it is unique, resilient, tenacious and beautiful. And even with all this going for it Lichen is most usually overlooked. I'm happy to introduce you to Lichen.
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