Postcards From Clear Creek: Lichen, Fungus & Moss

Lichen, Fungus & Moss — Aren’t these textures and colors amazing? And they’re all so teeny-tiny. Everywhere I looked in the Clear Creek State Forest, it seemed like  I saw more lichen, fungus and moss than anything else. I tell you — if these were my only friends, I’d have a lifetime’s worth of conversation waiting to happen.

[Note: Many thanks to one of my readers for pointing out that the photos below are of lichen and not fungus, as I'd originally stated. After some research, I am excited to know, finally, what lichen actually is: A symbiosis -- where two or more organisms live together -- in this case, "the basic components of this partnership are 1) a fungus called the 'mycobiont' and 2) one or more algae and/or a cyanobacteria called the 'photobiont'." (Source: http://www.earthlife.net/lichens/lichen.html.) The same reader also pointed out that lichen is very sensitive to air pollution, so the fact that it is so prevalent in this forest is a good thing. Go, Clear Creek Lichen!]