British Soldiers Lichen

Description:

British Soldiers is a lichen which gets its name from its resemblance to the uniforms worn by English soldiers during the Revolutionary War. A lichen is not just one organism, but a fungus and algae living together to form a new organism. Each part of the lichen appears to help the other. The fungus provides the algae with a "house" to live in, and the algae makes food for the fungus. The red part of British Soldiers makes spores. Spores are a lot like seeds from plants, in that they can travel by wind and start a new fungus. The new fungus will not become British Soldiers, though, until the algae joins it. British Soldiers, like all lichens, grows very slowly. It grows one to two millimeters each year. British Soldiers can start making spores when they are about four years old. Pieces of lichens that get broken off can also start making a new lichen, if they are in the right environment.

Habitat:

Backyard wood fence. British Soldiers can usually be found growing on decaying wood, soil, mossy logs, tree bases, and stumps. Lichens help break down old wood and put nutrients back into the soil where they can be used by plants.