Okay, so what are lichens? Well, they are symbiotic organisms ~ 2 organisms that cannot exist without each other.  Basically, they are one part fungus (that is incapable of making its own food) and one part algae, (which produce carbohydrates by photosynthesis ~ food). In other words, the algae provides the fungus with food while the fungus provides the algae with structure or, I guess you can say, a home. Lichens are a perfect relationship between fungus and algae ~ they need each other and could not exist without each other.

However, their story gets even better. They are known as a pioneer species. Their cooperative living arrangement gives them a mutual advantage so they can live in the harshest weather conditions. They grow in areas that tend to be too harsh or limited for most organisms. They “pioneer” bare rocks, desert sand, dead wood, animal bones, rusty metal, and living bark, just about anything. As lichens colonize rocks, they produce an acid that breaks down the rocks into soil, making minerals available. Although the process is slow and tedious, eventually there will be enough soil for mosses to develop, which will make more soil and water available for vascular plants such as ferns to come in.  As these plants live and decompose, the soil becomes richer and invite shrubs and then trees to occupy the area. These plants will attract insects and herbivorous animals, which will eventually attract predators ultimately creating an entire ecosystem, pretty awesome, huh?! An ecosystem grows out of a two organisms working and living together cooperatively.

Now, lets review the poetry of Lichens ~ we have this symbiotic relationship, where 2 organisms who need each other to merely exist. By living and working together, their simple existence creates a hospitable environment for all life on this planet to live and thrive.  One last thing: although they can live in very harsh conditions, they cannot live is highly polluted areas. They are very sensitive, especially to sulphur dioxide, which is a by-product of burning fossil fuels. Therefore, if you live in an area which is abundant in lichens, you should celebrate that your air is clean enough to support these amazing organisms.

Our society could learn a couple of things from lichens:

• Always work together
• Provide food and shelter for each other
• Don’t pollute

Then we would all thrive and create a welcoming world for all to live. These lichens make it seem so simple.

That is why I liken lichens.

Since lichens are created from different combinations of fungus and algae, there are over 13,500 different types, which come in so many different shapes and colors. These are just a few that I came across on a recent hike.