068 Stronger Together
Hey Lichen, you are a fungus and an alga living as one. Together you grow on bare rock where neither could live alone, and slowly turn it into soil.
Who do we become stronger with?
Who do you become stronger with?
On a bare grey rock on a hillside, there is a patch of crusty orange and pale green.
It looks like paint. It is alive.
What really happens
A lichen is a fungus and an alga, or sometimes a bacterium, living together as one.
The alga makes food from sunlight. The fungus holds water and grips the rock. Together they grow where neither could alone, and slowly help break rock into soil.
How we know: Lichen partnership is basic biology; ecologists describe lichens as pioneers on bare rock.
The turn
Alone, some places in life are too hard for us.
With the right partner, we can grow on bare rock, and make the ground softer for those who come next.
Three takeaways
- Some places need a partner.
- Together you can turn rock into soil.
- Pioneers prepare the ground for others.
Alone, rock. Together, soil.
Union is strength.