Lichen | Becoming is Superior to Being

Archive for the ‘Lichen’ Tag

A Symbiotic Relationship 3 comments

Lichens on rocks along the Wasson Peak trail. — Image by kenne

“Lichen is a composite organism consisting of a fungus (the mycobiont) and a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont or phycobiont) growing together in a symbiotic relationship. The photobiont is usually either a green alga (commonly Trebouxia) or cyanobacterium (commonly Nostoc).”

When teaching children about lichen, Sabino Canyon Volunteer Nationalists (SCVN) share this short poem:

“Alice Algae took
a lichen
to Freddie Fungus,
but now
their relationship
is on the rocks.”

Posted March 18, 2019 by kenneturner in Information, Photography, Poetry, SCVN, Tucson Arizona

Tagged with Algae, Hiking, Lichen, Tucson Arizona, Wasson Peak

Lichens, Lime Green Growths On Rocks 5 comments

Lichens on rocks along the Wasson Peak trail. — Image by kenne

“Lichen is a composite organism consisting of a fungus (the mycobiont) and a photosynthetic partner
(the photobiont or phycobiont) growing together in a symbiotic relationship. The photobiont is usually either a green alga
(commonly Trebouxia) or cyanobacterium (commonly Nostoc).”

When teaching children about lichen, Sabino Canyon Volunteer Nationalists (SCVN) share this short poem:

“Alice Algae took
a lichen
to Freddie Fungus,
but now
their relationship
is on the rocks.”

— kenne

Posted March 18, 2014 by kenneturner in Education, Information, Nature, Photography, Poetry

Tagged with Arizona, Composite organism, D800, Desert, Freddie Fungus, Hiking, Lichen, Lichens, lichens fungi, photosynthetic partner, Sabino Canyon Volunteer Nationalists, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona, symbiotic relationship, Tucson Arizona, Tucson Mountains

Entering Life’s Thorny Stage 2 comments

Image taken at Shale Ridge by kenne

“There is a Thorn—it looks so old,
In truth, you’d find it hard to say
How it could ever have been young,
It looks so old and grey.
Not higher than a two years’ child
It stands erect, this aged Thorn;
No leaves it has, no prickly points;
It is a mass of knotted joints,
A wretched thing forlorn.
It stands erect, and like a stone
With lichens is it overgrown.

. . . first stanza from William Wordsworth’s, “The Thorn”

Posted June 14, 2013 by kenneturner in Education, Life, Nature, Photography, Poetry

Tagged with environment, Lichen, Northern Virginia, quotes, Shale Ridge, The Thorn, Thorny Tree, William Wordsworth

Rocks, Lichen and Algae 5 comments

Lichen — Images by kenne

Lichen is a fungus that grows symbiotically with algae, resulting in a composite organism that characteristically forms a crust like or branching growth on rocks or tree trunks. It will be brown in color when it dries out, but with recent rain, gray, green and yellow color returns. When working with elementary school children in Sabino Canyon, the naturalists often use the following phase: