I Love Lichen..

30 Mar

Not the least because they make for wonderful, natural abstract art. Like those fractals, where you just zoom in and in, almost infinitely. Quite trippy, really.

I enjoy lichen, but on a rather superficial level, so I thought I’d find out more about these ‘growths’. I’ve put together this short summary.

And there are some pictures below :)

South African Lichens: Ancient, Resilient, and Remarkable

South Africa’s lichens are among the planet’s most enduring organisms. In a world obsessed with speed, our lichens are the ultimate counterculture - some species have been quietly doing their own thing for thousands of years, with a few possibly over 10,000 years old! They're the original masters of the "slow living" movement!

Their secret is a brilliant survival strategy:

Grow slowly (like millimetres per year)
When times get tough, they simply switch off and wait it out
Partner up for synergistic benefit

Lichens are nature's version of a perfect business merger:

The fungus provides structure and shelter (the office space)
Algae or cyanobacteria handle food production (the catering department)

It's worked so well that they've diversified into about 2,500-3,000 species across South Africa!

They come in three basic models. See which ones match in the images below.

Crustose - the "painted-on" look
Foliose - for that leafy, layered appearance
Fruticose - the wild, "just stuck my finger in a socket" style

Some local standouts include:

Xanthoria parietina (the sunshine yellow optimist)
Peltigera canina (the dog lichen that's neither canine nor particularly friendly)
Lobaria pulmonaria (the lung lichen that looked medicinal to wishful thinkers)

While they might seem dormant, if not dead, lichens are actually:

Building soils one microscopic particle at a time
Running miniature hosting accommodation for microbes
Serving as nature's mood rings (environmental indicators to scientists)

Historically, humans have utilised lichens for dyes, traditional medicines, and even food sources. Modern research continues to uncover new insights about their complex biology and the diverse microbial communities associated with them.

After surviving millennia of everything nature could throw at them, lichens clearly know something we’ve yet to learn!