The one that looks like a tiny coral reef has a body that is pale greyish-white, with branching, shrub-like stalks that rise from the ground like a cluster of coral. The stalks are covered in tiny, granular projections called phyllocladia, giving them a rough, bumpy texture. It is the lichen of the miniature reef, the one that makes the bare ground look like the bottom of the sea. What makes it special is the texture. The coral lichen is one of the most textured lichens in New Zealand. Its stalks are covered in tiny, coral-like bumps and branches, creating a rough, knobbly surface. The colour is pale greyish-white, sometimes with a hint of green or brown. The stalks are usually 2 to 5 centimetres tall, forming dense, rounded clumps on the ground. When you find a patch, it looks like a tiny reef that has been lifted from the ocean and placed on the mountainside. The coral lichen is a fruticose lichen, meaning it grows upright, like a tiny shrub, but with a distinctive coral-like shape. The stalks are brittle and snap when bent. The surface is covered in tiny, powdery granules (soredia) that break off and grow into new lichens. It is a master of fragmentation, a plant that reproduces by crumbling. Biologically, the coral lichen is a partnership, a fungus and an alga living together. The fungus provides structure and protection. The alga provides food through photosynthesis. The coral lichen is a pioneer species, one of the first to colonise bare ground. It grows slowly, a few millimetres per year, and a large clump may be decades old. To find coral lichen is to find the tiny reef on the ground. It is pale, branching, and bumpy, a miniature coral garden at your feet. You can run your finger over the rough, knobbly surface and feel the texture. It is the lichen of the quiet reef, the one that makes the bare ground look like the bottom of the sea, the one that proves that even the most barren ground can hold a garden.