Cladonia Evansii

To begin with a lichen is an sybiotic association between a fungus and algae. Specifically, Cladonia Evansii, which is known as "deer moss" is commonly found throughout . I found my sample behind the Santa Fe Watson Center.

Characteristics of a lichen include no roots meaning you can: take a lichen remove it from the ground, plant in a different location, and the lichen will survive. So being that lichen's have no roots the moisture from the air is very important to them. On rainy days a lichen will become soft and on dry days the lichen will be brittle or hard. Along the lines of absorbing the moisture from the air, lichens, also absorb other minerals from the air making them a good indicator. In heavy polluted areas the chance of seeing a lichen is less than that of areas which are less polluted. Another indication is if a fire has burned near by, lichens take a while to grow so if there aren't any it could be possible that there was a fire at one time. Finally lichens contain a nitrogen-fixing bacteria so when they begin to die or decay they release it into the soil which is beneficial too other plants.