It is not soft. Stereocaulon vesuvianum looks like a tiny coral reef on the rock. Its body is pale greyish-white to pale greyish-green. Branching, shrubby stalks rise from the rock like a miniature forest of coral. The stalks are covered in tiny, granular projections called phyllocladia. They give the lichen a rough, bumpy texture. It is the lichen of the pale branch. The one that thrives where little else bothers to grow. What makes it special is the persistence. Stereocaulon lichen is one of the toughest lichens in New Zealand. It grows on bare rock. On exposed ridges. On the sides of boulders where the wind never stops. Where the sun bakes the stone. It survives extreme temperatures. Long droughts. Intense sunlight. It is the lichen of the survivor. The one that grows where nothing else can. The one that has learned to thrive in the harshest conditions. The stereocaulon lichen is a fruticose lichen. It grows upright, like a tiny shrub, rather than flat on the rock. Its stalks are branching and bushy. They often form dense, rounded clumps. The surface is covered in tiny, coral-like bumps. These are actually small, scale-like branches. They give the lichen its rough, textured appearance. Under a hand lens, the bumps are visible. A miniature landscape of tiny scales. Biologically, the stereocaulon lichen is a partnership. A fungus and an alga living together. The fungus provides structure and protection. The alga provides food through photosynthesis. The stereocaulon lichen is a pioneer species. One of the first to colonise bare rock. It grows very slowly. A few millimetres per year. A large clump may be decades old. To find stereocaulon lichen is to find the pale coral on the rock. It is pale, branching, and rough. A tiny reef on the stone. You can run your finger over the bumpy surface. You feel the rough, coral-like texture. It is the lichen of the pale branch. The one that thrives where little else bothers to grow. The one that proves that the toughest survivors are often the smallest. No recorded Māori name distinguishes the stereocaulon lichen from other lichens. Lichens were generally called pūkohu or pukorokoro. The pale, coral-like lichen on the rocks would have been noticed. It looked like the coral of the sea. Like the bones of the earth. No distinct name survives. The stereocaulon lichen was sometimes used as a dye. The pale pigment could be extracted. It was used to colour fibres. Though it was not as vibrant as other lichens.