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Call for questions: LICHENS (Patreon)

Published:
2026-08-25 02:45:58
Edited:
2026-08-27 00:30:41
Imported:

Content

We've got an interview lined up for one of your most-requested episodes for 2026: LICHENS!

They don't have roots, but they can look like roots. They don't need soil, but they can make soil. They're not plants. They're not just fungi. They're partnerships of organisms and WE HAVE QUESTIONS.

Leave your own questions on lichens in the comments.

⚠️ Deadline: Wednesday, August 26 at 5pm PST

⚠️ QUESTIONS ARE CLOSED

Files

Comments

Sleepy John

Can lichens be transplanted, or cultivated?

DeniReni

How ancient are lichen? Is there evidence of them being used for medicine or food source for humans?

Anna Taylor

How did lichens evolve, What's the story behind their symbiosis? How old is their lineage?

Emily Wrubel

I wonder about their reproduction. Do the algal and fungal portions send out reproductive cells together or does the fungus begin and the algae finds it or...??

Nicky G

I honestly had no idea lichens were not fungi or plants... Life is CRAZY. What is the Ologist's favorite species of lichen?

Molly Hale

1. Is there a new concept word, other than "species," to understand and describe lichens, given that they contain fungi, algae, and other organisms? How should we be thinking about them? 2. What is recent research on lichens, for example from the last 5 or 10 years, telling us that we didn't know before? 3. What books would you recommend to a serious amateur interested in lichen biology beyond identification skills?

Kelly Shaver

Can we eat them? Should we eat them?

Kelly Shaver

Is a lichen a single organism or is it two organisms?

Kelly Shaver

Is it true that they can live for centuries?

Gnome Anne

Eee first question! I love lichens so much. I’ve heard lichen can be used as bio-indicators for air quality — how? What are they measuring? Do scientists still use them as indicators or have they been replaced by fancy sensors?

Storm

why is some lichen red?! In Tassie we have the bay of fires and all the rocks are red with lichen!

Noah

I have been waiting to ask a question for this episode. What is going on with sexual reproduction and the genotypes of lichen? To reproduce sexually must a lichen come into contact with the thallus of another lichen in order to undergo similar cell merging as that of fungi.

Noah

What happens if Freddy fungus and Alice algae take a lichen to each other?

Deanna

what is the structure of lichen? if you cut into one, what would you find? and what are the properties of each part?

Leah Anderson

Did you read “The Signature of All Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert? It’s all about moss vs lichens and imagines a woman’s documentation of competition between them as a foundational study for an alternative to Darwin’s Origin of Species. 💚

Ranger France

I am sure this will be addressed either way- how is lichen different from algae and fungus?

Ranger France

how long can lichen live without rain or a water source when on an inorganic item like a rock?

Ranger France

Is the color dictated by other mineral presence like rocks are?

Ranger France

I am BEGGING for an explanation for the interwoven symbiotic relationship as if I was five.

Ranger France

I learned in school lichen is a pioneer species for new ecosystems. How long has it been around? are we talking before dinosaurs and its survived since or do we have a newer, more recent evolution of it amongst us?

Doug Foster

Could you comment on NASA's lichen survival experiments outside of the International Space Station? What species? Were they attached to the ISS itself? Exposed to direct sunlight? Other? Thanks!

Ranger France

are there any "new" lichen" around today that have evolved within the Cenozoic era?

Ranger France

Is lichen one thing on its own when testing it genetically, or two things you must test on their own?

Ranger France

when does a symbiotic relationship become an organism of its own- as lichen is.

Ranger France

can the lichen itself evolve characteristics that the fungus and alga couldn't evolve independently?

Ranger France

If you transplant the same fungus onto different algal species, can you get lichens with different physical characteristics?

Ranger France

Is there a meaningful equivalent of a “lichen microbiome,” like the human gut microbiome?

Ranger France

I swear I remember learning somewhere that lichen can also be half bacteria but google is failing me. can lichen be algae OR fungi mixed with bacteria?

Ranger France

Can a lichen relationship become “unbalanced” over its lifetime where the algae takes over more than the fungus or visa versa?

Ranger France

I fear I am asking too many questions that I am lost in the sauce. I have just been so perplexed about it since learning it is a 2 organism relationship (or more apparently???)

Ranger France

If the fungus and alga can live independently, what actually makes them decide to become a lichen? what benefit do they give eachother?

Ranger France

does a fungal spore need to be in the same place as the algae at the same time or does it just figure itself out

Ranger France

what do lichen feed off of chemically? I know they are decomposers but what are they looking for molecularly?

Ranger France

How tf do they break down the inorganic material of a rock when other decomposer species break down dead organic items. I shouldn't be confused as a geology major but I am

Sharika Elahi

i've heard lichen can be used as gauze! can you go into all the known ethnobotanical uses of lichen?

Nathan

What is the funkiest-looking Lichen?

Mike Turner

First-time question asker (but longtime listener)... (he/him) I was taught that lichens were indicator species for air pollution. What is it about the differences between leafy, bushy and crusty lichens that makes some of them more resilient to pollution than others?

who_let_the_lucy_goose_loose

At what point does a community of symbiotic organisms become one organism? Or does our evolving understanding of lichens force us to abandon that distinction? Are lichens genuinely unusual, or do they simply make visible the interdependence that exists within all organisms?

Zinc

from fiancee Zuzia: is there a pattern for where lichens grow (or a belief in one - like moss growing on the north side of trees)?

Zinc

from fiancee Zuzia: why do I see more lichens on more mature trees, over younger ones? is it because they have more nutrients?

🪲Lilahlikesbugs🪲

I’m from Australia, and whenever I go camping my dad makes jokes about how he’s “lichen” the look of the place we’re at because of how much lichen grows around South Australia especially around our mountain areas. I’m wondering if Dadward can ask about any other lichen jokes this week’s ologist has heard of?

CamK

Why is some lichen tiny and some are HUGE? What are the biological and ecological differences between them?

CamK

What kind of environmental health indicators do lichen present. Does its presence indicate a healthy environment? What does lichen look like in urban environments?

8 oz Shrimp Bin

I'm lichen this episode! I've heard some varieties of lichen are edible, it made me wonder, are there any cultures around the world that include lichen in their cuisine? I'm also so curious what it would taste like...

Bob in Oregon

Special guest request: Kate Moss :)

Mugdha Yeola

Can I grow lichen in my room as a low maintenance houseplant?

Mugdha Yeola

What technology has originated from lichens? Like Ozempic came from Gila monster venom.

Mugdha Yeola

What's the most interesting lichen research happening these days?