Hi citizen! Welcome back to Fungi Town! 

This week, we investigate the mysterious partnership between fungi and algae that forms lichen. Although they may look like moss and live in some of the same habitats, lichens are completely different organisms. To help me explain what lichens are and what makes them so interesting, my guest Dr. Frank Bungartz from Arizona State University and the Charles Darwin Foundation talks about his work in the Sonoran Desert and the Galapagos Islands. We'll also discuss a new discovery that de-funked over 140 years of lichenology.  

To learn more about Tony Spribille's discovery, check out the excellent videos below:

SciShow Talk Show 

What's in a Lichen - National Geographic

If you like this podcast, please consider becoming a patron. To get access to special mini episodes and some sweet vinyl stickers, just visit www.fungitown.com and click the green "become a patron" button in the upper right corner of your screen. How about leaving a review? Leaving a review on Apple Podcasts will go a long way toward helping other listeners find their way to Fungi Town. New episodes are released every two weeks. Join me next time, when we talk about how fungi may be the solution to cleaning up our environment.

Special thanks to my guests: Dr. Frank Bungartz of Arizona State University and the Charles Darwin Foundation and Haley Golz of Lichen Landscapes, who contributed the artwork for this episode. Check out her website for some beautiful prints and cards. 

Fungi Town is written, directed and produced by Jen Parrilli and hosted on Podbean. Theme Music was created using the Bandimal App from Yatatoy. Defunked theme music is Fminor_Funk_BassGroove_100bpm by GRD-music, used via Creative Commons license through Freesound.

You can find Fungi Town on Facebook. Twitter, and Instagram: @fungitownpod or email at fungitownpod[at]gmail[dot]com.