Is it possible to grown lichen like the kind you buy used for model railroading? Like the kind below.


I know the stuff grows wild, but is there a domesticated variety, or a way to grow it?

http://www.backyardnature.net/lichens.htm

that should help you, let me know if it doesnt, i'll look for more lichen stuff hope it all goes well

-mech

Wow, thanks for the link man. I think I might have actually identified the kind used by modelers, or at least one similar. This is what I think it is. Since they reproduce by spores and fragmentation, I bet if I got a cutting of this stuff and let it take off in a controlled environment it would work, but I'd just have to find some. I don't think the kind you buy would work since they've probably been sprayed with something.

what you could do is take some 2x4s make a little "lichen garden" out side, throw some dead sticks in there, find your lichen cutting, and let it grow, i dont know how long it would take but its worth a try, let me know how it all works out, glad the link helped you

i've never been to arkansas, but here in virginia in the appalachain mts especially lichen is EVERYWHERE just go into the forest look at a rock and you'd think it was a lichen blob of some sort, so if you need anymore information, let me know.

-mech!

Gotcha. Here's another question. How would you preserve it once you got it do you think? Do you think glycerin would work? Since it's half animal half plant it might only work half the way :-) Could it even be preserved?

Gday,

One problem, I think you'll find that lichens are particularily slow growing. I know that the flat greyish green type can be used to date stonework in recent history ( read hundreds of years) as it has a very slow and measurable growth.

Tony

Hi Guy's,
Im just curious why you would want to use Lichen to begin with. Its not very realistic at all. There are tons of other products and methods of making quite realistic ground cover on the market. Why put all this time and effort into it?????
Cheers,
Bryan

Ok, then what would you grow? I'd just like to make my own, just for the heck of it I guess, to see if it could be done.