Forming Attachments

Day 48: At some point in my illustrious career, I identified this lichen as Parmelia hygrophila, and I choose to believe that I would not have ventured out onto a limb without being 99% sure. This post, however, is not so much about one particular species, but about forming attachments, and trust me, lichens are amazingly good at it. They can grab onto almost anything: wood, rock, bone...even metal or plastic, as can easily be seen on my garden gate (above) and the vinyl siding on my house. All it takes is a film of dust and a tiny bit of texture/porosity, the latter not something one generally associates with painted surfaces. The trick to their tenacity lies in rhizines, root-like structures on the underside of their lobes. In many cases, these rhizines are too fine to be seen with the naked eye. Unlike roots, though, rhizines are not concerned with nutrient uptake. They're there solely to hang on, and if you were to try to peel this delicate Parmelia away from its metal friend, you'd be in for an argument which might surprise you with its vehemence.