So much to get one’s brain around in this world of nature and how it works. In this post I’m trying to understand Lichens.

They’re not plants, nor animals. They are an alga and a fungus living in an association which benefits both of them, or a symbiotic relationship. The fungus has a root that will acquire water and minerals. The algae uses the process of photosynthesis to produce food.

The two images in this post are British Soldier Lichen (Cladonia cristatella). Lichens that I’ve discovered here at my cabin, and also further up, climbing Hightop Mountain to its summit, where British Soldier Lichen also lives.

Two organisms, so different, working together becoming a symbiotic association.

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