The Following Questions Refer to the Description Below

The following questions refer to the description below.
A lichen is a mutualistic association between a fungus and a green algae or cyanobacteria. There are clear morphological differences in lichen body form; some have flat bodies and are very close together, others have leaf-like bodies, and still others grow upright. The association between the two organisms is so complete that lichens are classified as a single organism.
-Lichens are found in a wide variety of habitats, including rocks, soil, tree bark, buildings, etc. Aging of lichens has shown that some are thousands of years old; how is this possible when you see that some of these lichens are very small?

A) When resources such as water is not available, the lichens enter a potentially long dormant phase, and thus grow very slowly.
B) It is not possible, and is likely an error in the dating technique.
C) It is not possible because small organisms are not long-lived.
D) They can die off if air pollution is bad and then revive and continue growing.
E) They can live long if they are in a city and protected from extreme cold and wind.