What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?
-William Henry Davies
Often referred to as “nature’s pioneers,” lichens can be found all over the world in places you might have never thought of. While trekking in the mountains have you ever noticed colorful organisms clinging to the rocks? Or while walking through the forest, the branches and twigs scattered throughout the forest floor, covered in green to brown organisms? Most likely, these are lichens. Lichens are a symbiotic association between a fungus and an algae or cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). They play an important role in not only creating beauty in an otherwise dull and lifeless area, they enable other organisms to grow, are a food source, used for nesting material, and can be used to learn about the health of the environment they are in.
