You walk past them everyday.They literally grow on trees, buildings, and rocks.These two literally l
You walk past them everyday.They literally grow on trees, buildings, and rocks.These two literally landed on my driveway.What ARE they?A #lichen (LIE-Ken) is a combination of algae living among filaments of multiple fungi in a symbiotic relationship because…who wouldn’t want to live with FUNGI? (BA-DUMP-SHH)Lichen:✅Evolved 400+ million years ago✅Are food for reindeer ✅Grow SLOW. Rhizocarpon geographicum grows extremely slowly and can reach an age of over 1000 years!✅Are used by scientists to show changes in the environment (they absorb pollution!) This is called lichen biomonitoring.✅Slowly destroy rocks by producing chemicals and expanding/contracting. This is called biological weathering.I know Instagram is terrible for links, but check out this article by @edyong209 for a fun read:https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/07/how-a-guy-from-a-montana-trailer-park-upturned-150-years-of-biology/491702/#scicomm #wearestemsquad #science #iamanaturalist #fungi #symbiosis #ohio #getoutside #explore #themoreyouknow -- source link
#lichen#scicomm#wearestemsquad#science#iamanaturalist#symbiosis#getoutside#explore#themoreyouknow