With a bent for sci-fi, Stalker’s always on the lookout for new stories and ideas.
The author of The Day of the Triffids John Wyndham, dreamt up a plot in Trouble with Lichen that hinges on a rare variety of lichen slowing down the human ageing process.
It may seem far out, but is not too different from the domestic arrangements of this life form - a partnership of fungi with cyanobacteria that photosynthesise and provide nutriment.
These days lichenologists are glueing lungwort lichen to trees in the Lake District in an effort to save the species from extinction. Global warming, acid rain, air pollution and habitat loss are affecting its ability to propagate.
Let’s hope the lichens attach and thrive, thus to live long and prosper.
