Site Overlay

Lichen this post?

This is from what I can tell most likely Xanthoria elegans, a type of lichen. It was found on a rock at Badlands NP. Nikon D810 and 105 Micro VR 1/320 f8 ISO 400

Anytime I’m out hiking or exploring in general, you will generally see me with my head down quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I am also looking around quite a bit too, and I (still thankfully) have pretty good hearing, so when I hear something I key in pretty quick on it to look. While hiking down the entrance to the canyon where you can find the Notch trail in Badlands, I stumbled across quite a few rocks with lovely color on them. I suspected that it was a form of lichen, which after some investigation I determined it was. Now, hiking in the Badlands almost always requires you to keep an eye on the trail. You will find rocky uneven terrain, cacti, and possibly rattle snakes. All of which you really want to be aware of.

If you remember from school, lichen is an example of a symbiotic relationship. It’s a combo of fungus and cyanobacteria or algae. I think we could all take the advice of the many organisms that have found that working together is far more beneficial than not. We can all be a little more symbiotic in nature I think.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *