Lichen respawning?

[tnbp]

I came across lichen today at the Unnamed Pond that can't possibly have been unharvested in the past. I'm over 150 days in and I've walked through that area dozens and dozens of times (the Homestead is my base and I use that cabin beyond the pond as a staging ground for my overnight hunting trips.) The lichen was blowing in the wind and caught my attention from pretty far away. I just can't believe I'd missed it in the past, especially considering I'm a diligent scavenger/looter/stockpiler. 

So is this maybe a new thing? Or perhaps a glitch of some kind?

[Dirmagnos]

There is a bug where sometimes items or whole areas respawn with no apparent reason. Mostly it seem to happen after long duration, several months at least. Or after updates.

[tnbp]

I experienced that in Mystery Lake, only, after Penitent Scholar.  Tons of stuff I had looted before had reppeared.  But this one surprised me.  Nothing else has respawned anywhere that I noticed-- just a few lichen in this one spot; and no update prior to it, either.  Just weird and random, it seems.

[cekivi]

Sometimes updates add new items or move objects in the game world. To insure prior saves are still compatible maps have loot selectively respawn. You may have just experienced an extreme version of that