Lichen

The city of Brisbane (along with my home) underwent major flooding in January 2011, but four months after the flood and most things have dried out. The yard is a mess and many plants have died, and the heavily contaminated mud which was once a horrible, sticky mess has now hardened and cracked, it’s texture rather course and gritty. Under my patio where the mud has been exposed to direct or filtered sunlight, weeds appear through the cracks and grow with a vengeance. That’s just common sense, but what I didn’t expect to see was a proliferation of lichen; it seems to be flourishing in the well-shaded areas underneath the house, well away from direct light.

The surface layer of mud is still moist enough for lichen to take hold, but as the mud slowly dries, the lichen also withers and dies. I didn’t think anything could live in such a foul substance, but at least there are signs of new life after such an ordeal. There is a distinct line of fresh green growth reminiscent of the tree line you’d see in alpine regions - the lichen starts growing where the weeds stop. It just goes to show that everything has it’s own special niche in nature.