In fact, the Red Coats are already here, on the ground and on fence posts. But don’t spread the alarm These are tiny, very tiny, soldiers, just an inch or so high. They are called British soldiers because of their bright red caps, which hearkens back to the time of the American Revolution.
These tiny soldiers belong to a group of “plants” called lichens. Plants is in quotes because lichens do not belong in the plant kingdom. Lichens are a composite of a fungus and an alga, which belong in two kingdoms different from the Plant kingdom. I won’t take you further down this rabbit hole except to say that a lichen is like a chemical compound, something composed of two separate elements, but which we think of as one thing.
The British soldiers lichens have a genus name of Cladonia. If you would like to see some, they can be found in various locations, but to train your eye for them, go to the dogleg turn on Wright Road and look on top of the wood fence posts on your right just after the turn. A magnifying lens is handy.
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