Navel Lichen: A Fascinating Rock Garden Resident You Can’t Actually Plant
Have you ever noticed those peculiar circular patches on rocks that look like tiny umbrellas attached at their center? Meet the navel lichen (Umbilicaria cinereorufescens), one of nature’s most intriguing organisms that might already be decorating the stones in your landscape – whether you invited it or not!
What Exactly Is Navel Lichen?
Before we dive deeper, let’s clear up what we’re dealing with here. Navel lichen isn’t actually a plant at all – it’s a fascinating partnership between a fungus and an alga living together in perfect harmony. This gray to reddish-brown lichen gets its navel nickname from its distinctive attachment point at the center, which looks remarkably like a belly button.
The scientific name Umbilicaria cinereorufescens literally translates to navel-like, ashy-reddish, which perfectly describes its appearance and attachment style.
Where You’ll Find This Native Beauty
This remarkable lichen is native to North America, where it naturally occurs across eastern regions, particularly thriving in mountainous areas. You’ll typically spot it growing on acidic rock surfaces like granite and sandstone, creating natural art installations that have been developing for decades or even centuries.
Identifying Navel Lichen in Your Landscape
Spotting navel lichen is easier than you might think once you know what to look for:
- Circular, flat patches typically 2-6 inches across
- Gray to reddish-brown coloration that may vary with moisture and age
- Single central attachment point (the navel) that connects to the rock surface
- Smooth to slightly wrinkled texture
- Found exclusively on rock surfaces, never on soil or wood
Is Navel Lichen Beneficial to Your Garden?
While you can’t plant or cultivate navel lichen (trust us, many have tried!), its presence in your landscape is actually a wonderful sign. Here’s why you should appreciate these natural rock decorations:
- Environmental indicator: Lichens are sensitive to air pollution, so their presence indicates good air quality
- Erosion prevention: They help protect rock surfaces from weathering
- Habitat creation: Tiny insects and spiders often shelter beneath lichen patches
- Natural beauty: They add subtle color and texture to stone features
The Reality Check: You Can’t Grow This
Here’s where we need to manage expectations: navel lichen cannot be planted, propagated, or cultivated like traditional garden plants. These slow-growing organisms develop naturally over many years, sometimes decades, and attempting to transplant them typically results in their death.
If you’re hoping to add lichen diversity to your rock garden or stone features, your best bet is patience. Creating the right conditions – having appropriate rock surfaces and maintaining good air quality – may eventually attract various lichen species naturally.
Appreciating What You Have
If you’re lucky enough to have navel lichen growing on rocks in your landscape, consider yourself fortunate! These ancient partnerships represent years of slow, steady growth and indicate a healthy environment.
The best way to care for existing navel lichen is simple: leave it alone. Avoid using chemical cleaners on affected rocks, don’t attempt to scrape or remove the lichen, and try to minimize foot traffic over colonized surfaces.
The Bottom Line
Navel lichen represents one of nature’s most patient artists, creating subtle beauty that develops over time scales that make our fastest-growing plants look hyperactive. While you can’t add it to your shopping list or propagate it in your greenhouse, you can certainly appreciate its quiet presence and the environmental health it represents.
Next time you’re walking through your garden or a natural area, take a moment to look at the rocks around you. You might just spot these fascinating belly button lichens, silently doing their part to make our world a little more interesting, one slow-growing patch at a time.
