Lichenophily

Cladonia cristatella - possibly my favourite lichen. I always get excited when I spot its tiny scarlet caps, the colour of arterial blood. 

I have to admit there's something of the charnel house about it. 

The pale powdery stalks are the algae part and the lipsticked tips are  the fungus, lichen being a symbiotic combination of the two.
There's some suspicion though that the fungus (for which indeed the whole is named) gets more out of it than the lichen - possibly this could be closer to parasiticism?
I prefer to think it's like one of those relationships where one partner is more confident and flamboyant and goes out to face the world and attract attenton while the other remains in the background and makes sure the essentials,aka shit work, get done for the union to survive. 
(I don't think divorce is an option in the world of lichen.)

The most lichenophilic people in the world are some of the Nepalese tribes who make use of lichen in a whole variety of ways, for rituals, tobacco,  incense, spices, bedding, medicine, and even as an ingredient in sausages.

"Sargyangma is a kind of sausage made up of minced pork, pork’s blood, eggs, fat, rice grains (optional), spices, onion, garlic, chilly, turmeric powder, ginger, salts and lichens inserted in the pork’s big intestines. Filling of ingredients should not be compact. Boiled and dried lichen is ground fine and mixed with other ingredients. Sometimes, Sargyangma is specially prepared for old elderly people during the festivals who cannot eat meat because of their weaker teeth."

See here.