If patience is a virtue, then lichen is most virtuous of organisms. It was recently discovered that lichen is a symbiosis of three, not two, plants; a fungus, an alga and/or a bacteria. For a more specific description I refer you to the following from Wikipedia:
Lichens (pronounced /ˈlaɪkən/, sometimes /ˈlɪtʃən/) are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic association of a fungus (the mycobiont) with a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont or phycobiont), usually either a green alga (commonly Trebouxia) or cyanobacterium (commonly Nostoc).Here is an organism that has no roots and depends entirely for sustenance on occasional rain water. All of its nutrients are derived from its substrate, usually some form of rock. Lichen can live on very low levels of water and often grow where nothing else will survive.
There is a saying that all things come to those who wait. Perhaps we can take a lesson from the lichen in patience?
Patience
ReplyDeleteIf patience is a virtue, then lichen is most virtuous of organisms. It was recently discovered that lichen is a symbiosis of three, not two, plants; a fungus, an alga and/or a bacteria. For a more specific description I refer you to the following from Wikipedia:
Lichens (pronounced /ˈlaɪkən/, sometimes /ˈlɪtʃən/) are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic association of a fungus (the mycobiont) with a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont or phycobiont), usually either a green alga (commonly Trebouxia) or cyanobacterium (commonly Nostoc).
Here is an organism that has no roots and depends entirely for sustenance on occasional rain water. All of its nutrients are derived from its substrate, usually some form of rock. Lichen can live on very low levels of water and often grow where nothing else will survive.