Lichens colonize bare glacial rock over centuries where no soil can accumulate

Evidence

In the span of centuries the rock became glazed with a gray-green crust of lichen almost indistinguishable from the rock itself, a bare coating of life. The steep faces and exposure to the winds off the lake have prevented any accumulation of soil, its surface a last relic of the Ice Age. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 984

Categorization

• CANDY: Lichen as ‘a last relic of the Ice Age’ coating rock is a striking image.
• XREF: connects to: Lichens chemically etch bedrock using acids that must be leached before eating — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 1005; Lichens engineer soil that eventually lets competitors replace them — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 1006; Lichens are symbiotic composites of fungus and alga forming one new organism — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 987

Broader Connections

• Lichens chemically etch bedrock using acids that must be leached before eating #complicates (0.80) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 1005
• Lichens engineer soil that eventually lets competitors replace them #complicates (0.75) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 1006
• Lichens are symbiotic composites of fungus and alga forming one new organism #expands (0.72) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 987