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Caleb, twenty-eight, 18+ only

Lecania fructigena  

This crustose lichen is variable, but tends to grow in thick patches that can appear areolate (tile-like), squamulose (scale-like), bullate (blister-like) or papillate (nipple-like). Basically, it is kind of a lumpy-bumpy mess. The upper surface color is also annoyingly variable, and can be anywhere from pale yellow-gray to dark gray to brownish black, and can vary in color throughout the thallus. It has numerous dark-brown pycnidia dotting the surface, and a brown-black hypothallus visible between the the thalline sections. The apothecia grow directly on the surface or on short stalks, and the disc comes in every shade of brown you can imagine, and can appear marbled with darker and paler spots when wet. L. fructigena grows on granite or serpentine rock on the western coast of North America, and has maybe also been found in Europe but ehhh, sounds like folks are not too sure. More genetic study is needed to figure out if we are looking at a species complex or what. But for some odd reason, there are very few funding bodies who want to throw a bunch of money at trying to differentiate uncharismatic lichen species. Go figure.

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“You are in the embrace of the history” — Deir el-Bahri in Nile West Bank. Luxor, Egypt

“The first written words started here” — Uruk, Iraq (Sumer, Mesopotamia)

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