Oh, hey there, Lichen

I feel like this stuff is everywhere on the trees around campus. I saw a lot of it on the Corkscrew Swamp tour as well.

• Lichen is called the pioneer of nature because it paves the way for other species to grow.
• Lichen can be found in very extreme conditions, from the arctic tundra to the Sahara.
• They are a cross between a a fungus and an algae.
• They live on either dead organic materials or on living organisms because the fungus part of them lacks  chlorophyll and can't produce their own food. This is where the algae comes into play.
• Lichen comes in a wide variety of colors and textures. Some even look similar to mushroom fungus.
• They are extremely drought resistant and can lay dormant without water for a long period of time.
• There are over 15,000 species of lichen.

In this photo you can see red and green lichen. The red lichen is sometimes called Christmas lichen because it is reminiscent of the holidays. These are both considered a "scaly" variety of lichen.