Desert Firedot Lichen

Desert firedot survives in some of Earth's harshest environments - the Atacama, Namib, and Sonoran deserts where rain may not fall for years. It achieves this through extreme metabolic flexibility: when moisture is available, it photosynthesizes rapidly; when dry, it enters suspended animation, losing up to 98% of its water content.

This lichen demonstrates the 'desert strategy' - extreme frugality punctuated by opportunistic bursts of activity. It doesn't try to maintain normal metabolism in hostile conditions; it shuts down almost completely and waits. The business parallel is companies that minimize burn rate during downturns, preserve optionality, and reactivate rapidly when conditions improve.