Meet the OLDEST LIVING ORGANISM ON EARTH: R. geographicum! That’s right! Using lichenometry (measuring the diameter of a lichen that has a known and constant growth rate to determine its age), scientists have aged some Arctic individuals at 8,600 years old! (well, ok, new research has shown that these estimations are maybe not as reliable as we once thought, but it’s still really really old) This distinctive crustose lichen is made up of round or angular neon green/yellow areoles tightly grouped together in patches surrounded in a black prothallus. Scattered among the areoles are black apothecia that are usually a similar size and shape to the areoles, giving the entire thallus a mosaic-like, tiled appearance. The patches tend to grow in large colonies across rock surfaces, which ends up giving the rock a map-like appearance! It colonizes siliceous rock in open, high-mountain sites, often near of above the treeline. It has a world-wide distribution, but is only found in some of the most isolated and freezing cold environments so it is not common. If the extreme age of this lichen isn’t enough to amaze and astound you, you should also know that R. geographicum is one of the lichens that has survived exposure to the vacuum of space! Basically, this lichen is a beautiful badass who is cooler than you will ever hope to be. Die mad about it. She will outlive you a hundred times over and laugh as your weak flesh succumbs to decay.Â