Delosperma leendertziae living with lichen

Destined to live in a rock crevice, this Delosperma leendertziae plant is coping well, see the flowers. Its mode of coping with the environment is very different to that of the lichen stuck on the rock with it. Dependent on air, nutrients and moisture are similarities they share. Being alive is another, the key issue shared by all that are sustained by nature.

The differences are also striking. The two-species anatomy of lichen veers far away from the single-species flowering plant, the mesemb. There is a partnership between the fungus that offers shelter, moisture retention and structure into the mutualistic symbiosis with the alga or cyanobacterium that performs photosynthesis and feeds the complex lichen structure.

The traditional view of lichen entailed a two-species organism. These days secondary fungi as well as special bacteria are often recognised as playing roles in lichen as well, turning them more into microbial ecosystems (Van Wyk and Malan, 1997; iNaturalist; Wikipedia; https://www.frontiersin.org).