botanyshitposts:

someone asks me what a lichen is. i explain that a lichen is a community of fungus that gets its energy by farming the algal cells it provides with shelter. “this is what one looks like” I say, putting my foot on a chair and rolling up my pant leg. there is a small blue lichen tattooed there. “there are lots of different types” I say, rolling up my pant leg further. there is a larger lichen there. it is not a tattoo. I roll up my pant leg further. there is a huge diversity of lichens living on my leg. my skin is bark. they have been growing there peacefully for centuries,