Lichens are an inconspicuous but ornnipresent feature of Rapa Nuj's rugged semi-tropical environment. A close inspection of any barren surface will often reveal these unique organisms, observable in colorful communities of whjte, green, grey and orange individual growth forms. Silently persisting, their existence and importance throughout centuries past has never passed unnoticed by islanders, but the interest of researcher from around the world was more recently tapped with the advent of lichen studies in the natural sciences.
Rutherford, Susannah; Shepardson, Brett; and Stephen, Jesse
"A Preliminary Lichenometry Study on Rapa Nui - The Rapa Nui Youth Involvement Program Report,"
Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation: Vol. 22
, Article 5.
Available at: https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj/vol22/iss1/5