Lichen
During times of scarcity, two species - fungus and alga, join together to become one. Their “marriage” to each other is what helps each other survive, each bringing the strengths the other organism can not provide.
An epiphyte, or air plant, lichen is non parasitic to its host. Alga is responsible for photosynthesizing and creating all the necessary sugar it needs for energy. Fungus takes the role of harvesting carbon and minerals needed from other sources. When joined together, they behave as a single organism, engaging in a reciprocal exchange of sugars and minerals for the lichens survival. As lichen is non parasitic, attempts to remove this plant can cause more harm than good to all members involved.
Unless you have never left the boundaries of the city you live and grew up in, most of us have all stumbled upon lichen even without realizing it. Lichen comes in a wide array of shapes, colors, and textures, making it easy to misidentify as a possible moss or even disease spreading from tree to tree.
Christmas Lichen on Live Oak
This lichen can be found on live oaks all throughout Cumberland Island State Park in Georgia.
Lichens can be found on rocks, soil, trees, buildings, mailboxes, cars, and more. These plants thrive along coastal areas where humidity and moisture is high as they will only grow while the organism is wet. With the ability to colonize bare ground, lichen are an important building block of the soil, allowing other plants to establish themselves in the cracks, creases, and folds of lichen.
As lichen are sensitive to their environment and need clean fresh air for survival, seeing signs of lichen are good. This means that where lichen is growing is still clean and fresh. Due to this, lichen will not be typically found in large cities near the coast due to the levels of pollution. How far from your home do you have to travel to see lichen? What does this mean for the air we breathe every day?
Good news, is that we can bring the lichen back onto our properties and into our towns. We shouldn’t have to travel an hour or more to see a sign that the air is pure and clean. If you want to know more about cleansing the environment and reducing our carbon footprint, stay tuned for next week when we talk about simple tips on how gardening for the Earth also benefits us.
More Resources:
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/lichens/habitat.shtml#:~:text=Trees%2C%20rocks%2C%20soil%2C%20houses,well%20as%20moss%20and%20ferns.
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/lichens/biology.shtml