Every other day FB would tell you that you have been friends with this person for this many years! So how about celebrating the friend anniversary! Of course since FB itself is not that old, most of the times you would have been friends for much longer time that what FB may claim!
Then again did you know that there is a mutual friendship which is over 600 million years old and still continues to this day!? FB may not show that one though! And of course if you have a close friend (lucky you!) then this is the friendship to beat!
Now one of the oldest confirmed symbiotic relationship dates back 520 million years and involves two species of marine worms. These worms were discovered in fossils from China and show one species with smaller worm-like animals attached to its outer surface, suggesting a symbiotic interaction!
But there is another friendship which has lasted even longer and stays even to this day!
The Lichen! This is a fungus-algae partnership, with evidence dating back 600 million years. Lichen is a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and algae or cyanobacteria. Fossils show evidence of lichen-like symbiosis dating back 600 million years!
Lichens are a complex life form that is a symbiotic partnership of two separate organisms, an animal like fungus and an plant like alga.
The dominant partner is the fungus, which gives the lichen the majority of its characteristics, from its thallus shape to its fruiting bodies. The alga can be either a green alga or a blue-green alga, otherwise known as cyanobacteria. Many lichens will have both types of algae.
This is a ‘perfect’ husband wife relationship though and much more than ‘mere friendship!’ so if that particular fungus or algae tells you that they are ‘just friends!’ do not believe them!
The fungi benefit from the carbohydrates produced by the algae or cyanobacteria via photosynthesis. The algae or cyanobacteria benefit by being protected from the environment by the filaments of the fungi, which also gather moisture and nutrients from the environment, and provide an anchor to it.
Both partners gain water and mineral nutrients mainly from the atmosphere, through rain and dust. The fungal partner protects the alga by retaining water, serving as a larger capture area for mineral nutrients and, in some cases, provides minerals obtained from the substrate. If a cyanobacterium is present, as a primary partner or another symbiont in addition to a green alga as in certain tripartite lichens, they can fix atmospheric nitrogen, complementing the activities of the green alga!
No dowry, no alimony! Only pure love! That is the Lichen! Friendship and companionship must be like the Lichen! Only then there will be peace all over! Then again you need leaders like Ahilyabai Holkar who was the Rajamata and later the ruling queen of Indore within the Maratha Empire! She contributed to the growth of Indian architecture through the commission of various temples, Ghats, and Dharmshalas spread across bharat!
Do read about her…
Jai hind…
ramadocblog 