Looks like a dead animal. A lichen that sprawls where it falls. Dog lichen has a large, leafy, floppy body – pale grey-green to brownish-green when dry, bright green when wet. Lobes are broad and rounded, spreading across the soil like a discarded hide or a crumpled piece of leather. The lichen of the forest floor, the one that sprawls where it falls. A lichen that looks like something died. What makes it special is the texture. One of the largest and most conspicuous lichens in New Zealand. Lobes can be 10 to 20 centimetres across, forming sprawling mats on the forest floor. The surface is smooth and shiny when wet, wrinkled and dull when dry. The underside is pale, with a network of raised, branching veins that look like leaf veins. A distinctive feature of the Peltigera genus, a network of white or pale lines standing out against the darker background. A cyanolichen – it contains cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) instead of green algae. The cyanobacteria give it a darker, more olive colour and the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. A natural fertiliser, adding nitrogen to the forest floor. A partnership – a fungus and a cyanobacterium living together. The fungus provides structure and protection; the cyanobacterium provides food through photosynthesis and nitrogen through fixation. The forest floor is damp. The dog lichen sprawls, floppy and grey-green, lobed like a discarded hide. The underside is veined, pale lines standing out against the dark. The lichen does not know it is a partnership. It does not know it is fixing nitrogen. It just wants to be wet.