Ethnolichenology of the World

PART I:  A brief look at lichens and people
       Folk taxonomy of lichens
       Lichen mythology
       Uses of lichens by people
       Variation within a lichen species
       Lichens as medicine
       Lichens as food
       Lichens as dye

PART II:  An inventory of lichen species that are used by people
       Lichens A-M
       Lichens N-X and unidentified lichens
       Index of lichen names

REFERENCES CITED

TABLES
       Table 1:  Preparation methods of lichens used as food by people
       Table 2:  A summary of studies on the nutritional composition of lichens
       Table 3:  A summary of lichens being used as dyes

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PART II: An inventory of lichen species that are used by people


NOTE:

    All lichens are listed alphabetically according to their scientific name.  If there is information about lichen uses that is general across a genus, or if the exact species used is unknown, this information is entered under the heading Genus spp. and is placed before all other entries of that genus.  There are some lichens recorded in ethnographic literature of unknown genus, and these are entered at the end of the list.
    There are many synonyms in the naming of lichens.  Ethnographic literature is often very inconsistent in the names used for various lichens.  To attempt to reduce confusion, all lichens were named according to the following works, in order of preference:
    Brodo et al. (2001): Only deals with selected North American species
    McCune (2000): Only deals with North American Usnea species
    Esslinger (1997): Only deals with North American species
    DePreist (2002): Only deals with Cladonia species
    CABI Bioscience Databases (2001): All species, but synonyms incomplete



Lichens A-M

Lichens N-X and unidentified lichens

Index of lichen names



Alectoria spp.

FOLK NAMES:
    Lappo [name also applied to other Alectoria-like and Usnea-like beard lichens] (Saami: northern         Scandinavia)

USES:    Animal forage (Saami: northern Scandinavia)

    Alectoria spp. and other Alectoria-like and Usnea-like beard lichens are called Lappo by the Saami of northern Scandinavia.  The Saami recognize that these lichens are quite liked by reindeer but do not form a large part of their diet.   SEE: Cladina spp. for more information on this.
    Alectoria species contain usnic acid and sometimes orcinol depsides (Brodo et al. 2001).



Alectoria fremontii [syn. Bryoria fremontii]

SEE: Bryoria fremontii



Alectoria jubata

NOTES:    This name is common in ethnographic literature but is no longer a valid taxonomic
group. The name Alectoria jubata may have usually been applied to Bryoria fremontii in North America, but it was probably also generally applied to any species of Bryoria (Brodo and Hawksworth 1977).  The genus Bryoria includes 24 North American species (Brodo et al. 2001).  In Europe Alectoria jubata has been called a synonym with Alectoria fuscescens and Bryoria fuscescens.

SEE:    Bryoria fremontii




Alectoria nigricans [“Gray witch’s hair”]

FOLK NAMES:
    Tingaujaq [name also applied to other “caribou moss”, Alectoria ochroleuca, Bryocaulon
       divergens, and Bryoria nitidula] (Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and
       Greenland Inuit)
    Tingaujaq [name probably also applied to other “dry black moss”, Bryocaulon divergens
       and Bryoria nitidula] (North Slope Inuit)

USES:    Animal feed (Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and Greenland Inuit), Tinder (North Slope Inuit)

    Alectoria nigricans, Alectoria ochroleuca, Bryocaulon divergens, and Bryoria nitidula were called Tingaujaq by the Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and Greenland Inuit of the North American arctic (Wilson, 1979).  These lichens were known to be the favorite food of young caribou, and children would use them to lure in fawns so that they could touch them (Wilson, 1979).  The North Slope Inuit from the north coast of Alaska call a “dry black moss” (probably Alectoria nigricans, Bryocaulon divergens, and/or Bryoria nitidula) by the same name, and they used it as tinder (Wilson, 1979).
    Alectoria nigricans contains alectorialic acid, and may also contain thamnolic and barbatolic acid (Brodo and Hawksworth 1977).



Alectoria nitidula [syn. Bryoria nitidula]

SEE: Bryoria nitidula



Alectoria ochroleuca [“Green witch’s hair”]

FOLK NAMES:
    Tingaujaq [name also applied to other “caribou moss”, Alectoria nigricans, Bryocaulon
       divergens, and Bryoria nitidula] (Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and
       Greenland Inuit)

USES:    Animal feed (Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and Greenland Inuit), Molasses (northern Russia).

    Alectoria ochroleuca, Alectoria nigricans, Bryocaulon divergens, and Bryoria nitidula were called Tingaujaq by the Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and Greenland Inuit of the North American arctic (Wilson, 1979).  These lichens were known to be the favorite food of young caribou, and children would use them to lure in fawns so that they could touch them (Wilson, 1979).
    Alectoria ochroleuca, along with several other lichens, has also been used to produce molasses in northern Russia.  SEE: Cladina spp. for further notes on using lichens for molasses.
    Alectoria ochroleuca contains usnic acid (Brodo and Hawksworth 1977), which is known to be one of the stronger lichen antibiotics (Lauterwein et al. 1995).  It may also contain alectoronic acid, chloroatranorin, barbatic acid, diffractaic acid, and thamnolic acid (Brodo and Hawksworth 1977).



Alectoria sarmentosa [“Witch’s hair”]

FOLK NAMES:
    Suts’wakt [name also applied to Usnea spp.] or Ipts-aak [lit. “limb moss”, name also applied to         mosses growing on the tree branch] (Bella Coola)
    P’u7up [name also applied to any lichen or moss] (Nitinaht)

USES:    Decoration (Bella Coola, Secwepemc, Nuxalk), Medicine (Bella Coola), Clothing (Interior Salish), Fiber (Nitinaht, Sechelt, Haida)

    Alectoria sarmentosa, Usnea spp., and Bryoria spp. were used by the Stl’atl’imx and other Interior Salish peoples for weaving clothing such as ponchos and footwear (Turner 1998).  The lichen was usually interwoven with stronger materials such as silverberry bark.  Clothing made from such lichen was considered to be of low quality, and was usually worn by those who couldn’t obtain skins to use instead.
    The Secwepemc (Turner 1998), Nuxalk (Turner 1998), and Bella Coola (Turner 1973) use Alectoria sarmentosa and Usnea spp. as false whiskers and artificial hair for decorating dance masks, and especially for children masquerading.  
    The Sechelt used Alectoria sarmentosa and Usnea spp. to put on a fire when they wanted smoke (Turner 1998).  The Haida used them for bedding when they were camping (Turner 1998).
    Among the Nitinaht, Alectoria sarmentosa and Usnea spp. are valued for their absorbent qualities.  They are used for wiping salmon, and as sanitary napkins and baby diapers (Turner et al. 1983).  The Sechelt also used these same lichens as baby diapers (Turner 1998).
    The Nitinaht used Alectoria sarmentosa and Usnea spp. for dressing wounds (Turner et al. 1983). These same lichens, if found growing on alder, were used by the Bella Coola to poultice sores and boils (Smith 1928, cited in Turner 1973).  These lichens were also used by the Haida to strain hot pitch to remove impurities before it was used as medicine (Turner 1998).
    The related species Alectoria vancouverensis occurs in coastal areas of B. C. and was probably not differentiated from Alectoria sarmentosa by the First People’s of these areas.  Alectoria sarmentosa contains usnic acid (Brodo and Hawksworth 1977), which is known to be one of the stronger lichen antibiotics (Lauterwein et al. 1995).  It may also contain alectoronic acid, a-collatolic acid, atranorin, barbatic acid, squamatic acid, and thamnolic acid (Brodo and Hawksworth 1977).



Anaptychia spp. [“Fringe lichens”]

FOLK NAMES:
    Chharila [but name generally applied to Parmotrema chinense, Parmotrema perforatum,
        and Everniastrum cirrhatum] (India)

USES:    Medicine (India)

    Chharila is the name of a widely used lichen crude drug in India that is generally applied to Parmotrema chinense, Parmotrema perforatum, and Everniastrum cirrhatum.  However, analysis of Chharila by Chandra and Singh (1971) showed that over 50% of the drug was actually other lichens, one of which is Anaptychia spp.  For information on Chharila SEE:  Parmotrema chinense.
    Anaptychia species contain no lichen substances (Brodo et al. 2001).



Anaptychia ciliaris [syn. Physcia ciliaris]

NOTE:    Not found in North America

USES:    Alcohol (Sweden, northern Europe, northern Russia)

    Anaptychia ciliaris has been used to make brandy in northern Europe and northern Russia.  This process was most commonly used with Cladina rangiferina, but several other lichen species have been used.  SEE: Making Brandy from Lichen under Cladina rangiferina.
    Anaptychia species contain no lichen substances (Brodo et al. 2001).


Arctoparmelia centrifuga [“Concentric ring lichen”; syn. Parmelia centrifuga, Xanthoparmelia centrifuga]

USES:    Dye (Great Britain, Arctic)

    Arctoparmelia centrifuga has been used to dye woolens red-brown.  Uphof (1959) records this use in Great Britain and Brodo et al. (2001) records this use in the arctic.
    Arctoparmelia centrifuga contains usnic acid, atranorin, and alectoronic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Aspicilia calcarea [syn. Urceolaria calcarea??, Lecanora calcarea]

USES:    Dye (Great Britain, Sweden)

    Aspicilia calcarea was also used in Sweden for a red-brown dye for wool (Uphof 1959).  Uphof (1959) also records that Urceolaria calcarea [probably a synonym] was used in Great Britain as a source of Cudbear, a red-crimson dye used for woolens.  Before it was used for dye it had to be treated with ammonia (probably urine).  The lichen was pulped with water and ammonia, and then left to ferment for 2 to 3 weeks.



Aspicilia cinerea [“Cinder lichen”; syn. Urceolaria cinerea??, Lecanora cinerea]

USES:    Dye (England)

    Urceolaria cinerea was used in England to make a red-crimson dye used on woolens (Uphof 1959).  Before it was used for dye it had to be treated with ammonia (probably urine).  The lichen was pulped with water and ammonia, and then left to ferment for 2 to 3 weeks.
    Aspicilia cinerea contains norstictic and stictic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Aspicilia esculenta [“Manna Lichen”; syn. Lecanora esculenta]

FOLK NAMES:
    Torba (Libyan shepherds: Libya)
    Trub (Bedouin sheep herders: Libya)

USES:    Food (northern Africa and west central Asia), Animal Feed (Libya), Alcoholic Beverages (Arabic), Medicine (Arabic, Cyrenaica)

    Aspicilia esculenta is a vagrant desert lichen of Iran and Northern Africa. It is the most likely candidate for the biblical manna mentioned in Exodus (16:31) and Numbers that was eaten by the Israelites when they wandered the Sinai wilderness for 40 years (Perez-Llano 1944; Brodo et al. 2001).  This lichen forms hard, spherical growths that resemble pebbles, usually less than one centimeter in diameter.  It is loosely or not at all attached to the substrate and is easily blown around in heavy winds.  In violent windstorms lichen thalli can be blown into heaps in lowland areas where morning dew can soften them.  Although it is generally found evenly and sparsely distributed, there were large lichen falls were recorded in central Turkey, Armenia, and northern Persia in 1824, 1828, 1829, 1846, and 1890.  In some fall events lichens have piled up to 20 to 30 cm high, and because they sometimes occurred during famines they were appreciated as a famine food (Crum 1993).
    This lichen is generally thought to be edible.  Brodo et al. (2001) states that people in west central Asia are known to have eaten it, at least in times of famine.  Perez-Llano (1944) and Uphof (1959) both state that it is still eaten by some desert tribes, being ground mixed with meal to one-third its weight.  According to Nelson (1951), it is gathered by the Tartars and made into earth bread.  Crum (1993) stated that the lichen is mixed with flour and made into bread in the steppes of southern USSR.  Crum also says that it was occasionally eaten in North America as an ingredient in bread, eaten raw, or eaten parched with or without oil.  And according to Crum the lichen was used in Libya as famine food during WWII, and that Alexander’s army escaped starvation in 330-327 BC in Persia by eating it.
    Crum (1993) also mentions several other human uses for Aspicilia esculenta.  It was mentioned as an ingredient to make wine and medicinal compounds in Arabic writing in the 9th to thirteenth centuries.  And in Cyrenaica in the 11th century it was collected and fermented with honey as a drink.
    In some regions Aspicilia esculenta is also used as forage for sheep and goats, especially in times of drought (Brodo et al. 2001; Crum 1993).  Libyan shepherds refer to Aspicilia esculenta as and often graze sheep on it in droughts (Crum 1993).  They may erect cairns to help locate particularly good lichen patches, and sometimes harvest the lichen to bring it back to their livestock (Crum 1993).  The Bedouin sheep herders in Libya refer to the lichen as TorbaTrub and also use it as forage for their goats and sheep (Crum 1993).  Unlike the Libyans, Bedouin don’t just use Aspicilia esculenta in droughts, and they claim that all a sheep needs to survive is Trub and water (Crum 1993).
    The manna in the bible is described as a small, round thing.  It was as small as hoar frost on the ground, resembled coriander seed, and was white.  It was baked to be eaten.  This could have been inspired by the lichen Aspicilia esculenta.  Currently, however, this lichen does not grow in Sinai.  And as Crum (1993) points out, it is unlikely that this lichen supported all of the children of Israel for 40 years, as is suggested in the books of Exodus and Numbers.  But the lichen would quite likely be nutritious if properly prepared, as it was found to be 23% carbohydrate and does not contain any secondary lichen compounds that make most lichens bitter and mildly toxic.  This is contrary to Crum’s (1993) conclusions, but he was basing his analysis on uncooked lichen when almost all accounts clearly show that Aspicilia esculenta was cooked before being used.
    Several other closely related species of Aspicilia grow in the same area and are often referred to as Aspicilia esculenta.  These species are Aspicilia jussufii, Aspicilia vagans, and Aspicilia fruticulosa (Crum 1993).  As well, another related species Aspicilia hispida has a similar growth form and is found on dry prairies in B. C., Alberta, and northwest U. S. A. (Brodo et al. 2001).  Crum (1993) reports on different chemical analyses of Aspicilia esculenta.  Two different nutrient analysis have shown that the lichen contains 23% starch and 66% calcium oxalate, or 11% starch and 60% calcium oxalate.  The carbohydrates are mostly lichenin and there is no isolichenin.  The lichen doesn’t contain detectable amounts of any secondary lichen compounds.  According to Crum (1993), the calcium oxalate probably accumulates because the lichen secretes oxalic acid from its hyphae and causes calcium oxalate to form as an insoluble extracellular deposit.



Aspicilia fruticulosa

NOTE: Aspicilia fruticulosa may be confused with Aspicilia esculenta and has probably historically been used with this lichen to some extent (Crum 1993).  SEE: Aspicilia esculenta.  This lichen is rare in North America.


Aspicilia jussufii

NOTE: Aspicilia jussufii may be confused with Aspicilia esculenta and has probably historically been used with this lichen to some extent (Crum 1993).  SEE: Aspicilia esculenta.  This lichen does not occur in North America.


Aspicilia vagans

NOTE: Aspicilia vagans may be confused with Aspicilia esculenta and has probably historically been used with this lichen to some extent (Crum 1993).  SEE: Aspicilia esculenta.  This lichen does not occur in North America.



Bacidia spp. [“Dot lichens”]

USES:    Dye (Europe)

    These lichens were used as a source of red dye for woolens, especially used in Europe (Uphof 1959).
    Many species of Bacidia contain zeorin and atranorin (Brodo et al. 2001).



Borrera furfuracea

NOTE:    Borrera furfuracea is sometimes referred to in ethnographic literature, but the genus Borrera is no longer valid and has been replaced with the genus Teloschistes.  There does not appear to be a synonym for Borrera furfuracea, but from descriptions given by ethnographers I think that the name Borrera furfuracea was used to refer to Pseudevernia furfuracea (however, Pseudevernia and Teloschistes are completely unrelated genera).
    It should be further noted that Pseudevernia furfuracea does not grow in North America.  Any references to this lichen in North American ethnographic literature are probably actually referring to Pseudevernia consocians or Pseudevernia intense.



Bryocaulon divergens [“Northern fox hair”; syn. Cornicularia divergens]

FOLK NAMES:
    Tingaujaq [name also applied to other “caribou moss”, Alectoria ochroleuca, Alectoria
       nigricans, and Bryoria nitidula] (Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and
       Greenland Inuit)
    Tingaujaq [name probably also applied to other “dry black moss”, Alectoria nigricans and
       Bryoria nitidula] (North Slope Inuit)
    Lappo [name also applied to other Alectoria-like and Usnea-like beard lichens] (Saami:
       northern Scandinavia)

USES:    Animal feed (Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and Greenland Inuit), Animal forage (Saami: northern Scandinavia), Tinder (North Slope Inuit)

    Bryocaulon  divergens, Alectoria ochroleuca, Alectoria nigricans, and Bryoria nitidula were called Tingaujaq by the Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and Greenland Inuit of the North American arctic (Wilson, 1979).  These lichens were known to be the favorite food of young caribou, and children would use them to lure in fawns so that they could touch them (Wilson, 1979).      The North Slope Inuit from the north coast of Alaska call a “dry black moss” (probably Bryocaulon divergens, Alectoria nigricans, and/or Bryoria nitidula) by the same name, and they used it as tinder (Wilson, 1979).
    Bryocaulon spp. and other Alectoria-like and Usnea-like beard lichens are called Lappo by the Saami of northern Scandinavia.  The Saami recognize that these lichens are quite liked by reindeer but do not form a large part of their diet.   SEE: Cladina spp. for more information on this
    Bryocaulon divergens contains olivetoric acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Bryoria spp. [“Bear hair”, “Witches’ Hair”]

NOTE:    Alectoria jubata is a common lichen name referred to in old literature and may be referring to either Bryoria spp. or Bryoria fremontii.  References to Alectoria jubata that are thought to be referring specifically to Bryoria fremontii are dealt with under that lichen heading, the rest are dealt with under Bryoria spp.

FOLK NAMES:
    Lappo [name also applied to other Alectoria-like and Usnea-like beard lichens] (Saami:
       northern Scandinavia)
    P’elems [name also applied to Alectoria spp, Peltigera spp., and Sticta spp., and mosses]
       (Southern Kwakiult)

USES:    Animal forage (Saami: northern Scandinavia), Animal feed (Saami and Scandinavians: northern Scandinavia), Alcohol (Sweden, northern Europe, northern Russia), Dye (Europe, Coastal Salish), Fiber (Interior Salish, Southern Kwakiult)

    Alectoria spp. and other Alectoria-like and Usnea-like beard lichens are called Lappo by the Saami of northern Scandinavia.  The Saami recognize that these lichens are quite liked by reindeer but do not form a large part of their diet.  Bryoria spp. [Alectoria jubata] is commonly collected as fodder for domestic livestock in Scandinavia by the Scandinavians and the Saami, especially when supplies of Cladina rangiferina run low.  SEE: Cladina spp. for more information on lichens as forages and animal feed.
    Bryoria spp. [Alectoria jubata]  has been used to make brandy in northern Europe and northern Russia.  This process was most commonly used with Cladina rangiferina, but several other lichen species have been used.  SEE: Making Brandy from Lichen under Cladina rangiferina.
    The Stl’atl’imx (Lillooet), Nlaka'pamux (Thompson), and other Interior Salish peoples in British Columbia would use Bryoria spp., Alectoria spp., and Usnea spp. fiber for weaving clothing such as ponchos and footwear (Turner 1998).  The lichen was usually interwoven with stronger materials such as silverberry bark.  Garments made from these lichens were not very useful when wet and were considered to be of poor quality.  They were usually worn by those who couldn’t obtain skins for clothing.  Lichens were also used to make some ceremonial garments.
    Bryoria spp., along with other lichens such as Alectoria spp, Peltigera spp., and Sticta spp., and mosses, were called P’elems by the Southern Kwakiult and were used as household material for activities such as lining steaming pits and wiping blood and slime off salmon (washing or scraping the fish ruined the taste) (Turner and Bell 1973).
    According to Uphof (1959), Bryoria spp. [Alectoria jubata] was used in England to stain wool a pale green to brown-red colour.  But there are may also records of Bryoria spp. [Alectoria jubata] being used by Coastal Salish to make a yellow dye (Ravenhill 1938, cited in Turner and Bell 1971; Turner 1998).  It may have been mixed with Letharia vulpina for this purpose (Turner 1998).  Bryoria spp. [Alectoria jubata] was also used in perfumery (Uphof 1959).
    Bryoria species usually contain fumarprotocetraric acid and can contain a wide variety of other compounds (Brodo et al. 2001).  Llano (1944b) reports that Bryoria spp. [Alectoria jubata] has a particularly high protein to fat content for a lichen, being 7.77% protein.  This content varied with the season.



Bryoria capillaris [“Gray horsehair lichen”; syn. Alectoria capillaris, Alectoria  setacea,
Alectoria implexa]

USES: Paint (Haisla and Hanaksiala)

    The Haisla and Hanaksiala burned this lichen into a black powder and then used it to make wood paint (Compton 1993).
    Bryoria capillaris contains alectorialic and barbatolic acid, and may also contain alectoronic acid, atranorin, norstictic acid, psoromic acid, and salazinic acid (Brodo and Hawksworth 1977).



Bryoria fremontii [“Black tree lichen”; syn. Alectoria fremontii; partial syn. Alectoria jubata]

NOTE:    Alectoria jubata is a common lichen name referred to in old literature and may be referring to either Bryoria spp. or Bryoria fremontii.  References to Alectoria jubata that are thought to be referring specifically to Bryoria fremontii are dealt with under this lichen heading, the rest are dealt with under Bryoria spp.

FOLK NAMES:
    Sä’tc’Etct (Coeur D’Alêne)
    Skole¯’p or Skwei’íp (Okanagan)
    Skola’pkEn (Flathead)
    A.wi¯’.a (Lillooet)
    Wila (Secwepemc)
    /wí7e (Thompson)

USES:    Food (Thompson, Okanagan, Lillooet, Secwepemc, Coeur D’Alêne, Kootenay, Flathead, Vancouver Island Salish?, Nez Perce, Klamath: Oregon, Wailaki: California, Blackfoot: Montana)

    Ray (1932: pg 104, cited in Turner and Davis 1993) classes Bryoria fremontii as one of the best liked vegetables of the Sanpoil-Nespelem Okanagan, when it was cooked with alternate layers of wild onion. Teit (1928a) lists Bryoria fremontii [Alectoria jubata] as a principal vegetal food Okanagan and records that they call it Skole¯’p.  Turner et al. (1980) also record that the lichen was called Skwei’íp, and also record several other names associated with the lichen.  The act of gathering the lichen is called Xipm and the instrument used to gather the lichen is called a Txipmn.  Twisting the lichen off of a branch is called Ski7alkwíkstm, and cleaning the lichen is called Nexwkw’íw’sntm.
    Bryoria fremontii was also commonly eaten and liked by the Lillooet, but apparently not as well liked as a food as salmon was, as shown in a story recorded by Bouchard and Kennedy (1922: pg. 31, cited in Turner and Davis 1993).   In this story Raven acquires a salmon during a food shortage and tries to hide his good fortune from the villagers by pretending that he only has black tree lichen bread. Teit (1928a) records that the Lillooet called the lichen A.wi¯’.a, but does not record how they used the lichen.
    Bryoria fremontii was cooked and eaten by the Secwepemc in much the same way as the other Interior Salish peoples.  They called the lichen Wila.  The raw thallus of Bryoria fremontii was eaten as a famine food by the Secwepemc, but it was usually never eaten raw except in cases of extreme hunger (Turner and Davis 1993).  They also chewed the raw thallus as a thirst quencher (Turner and Davis 1993).
    The Thompson also harvested Bryoria fremontii and cooked it in pits (Turner et al. 1990).  They called the lichen /wí7e.
    Bryoria fremontii was considered to be a luxury food by the Flathead of Montana, especially when it was mixed with dried powdered camas (Camassia quamash) (Stubbs 1966, cited in Turner and Davis 1993). Teit (1928a) lists Bryoria fremontii [Alectoria jubata] as a principal vegetal food of the Flathead and records that they called the lichen Skola’pkEn.
    Teit (1928a) lists Bryoria fremontii [Alectoria jubata] as a principal vegetal food of the Coeur D’Alêne and records that they called the lichen Sä’tc’Etct.
    Bryoria fremontii [Alectoria jubata]  may have been eaten by the Vancouver Island Salish (Turner and Bell 1971), but otherwise there is no record of coastal people of British Columbia eating this lichen.
    It appears that Bryoria fremontii was a standard food in some areas, especially in interior British Columbia.  In these areas it was normally consumed but probably became more important during famines.  The Lillooet, Thompson, Okanagan, Secwepemc, and other interior peoples probably used it in this way (Turner 1977; Turner et al. 1990; Kuhnlein and Turner 1991, cited in Turner and Davis 1993; Turner and Davis 1993).
    In other areas Bryoria fremontii would only be eaten minimally under normal conditions, but increased in importance in famines (Kuhnlein and Turner 1991, cited in Turner and Davis 1993; Turner and Davis 1993).  There are many records of this lichen being eaten during famines.
Bryoria fremontii was used as a famine food by the Klamath of Oregon (F. V. Colville’s notes, cited in Chestnut 1902), the Wailaki of northern California (Chestnut 1902), and the Blackfoot of western Montana (Blankinship 1905, cited in Johnson 1970, 1982). In times of scarcity the Kootenay would boil Bryoria fremontii with the stomach contents or droppings of grouse for flavoring (Hart 1976, cited in Turner and Davis 1993).
    Lewis and Clark (1806: vol. 5, pg. 4; cited in Spinden 1908) report that a species of Alectoria-like lichen growing on pine trees [probably Bryoria fremontii] was boiled and eaten by the Nez Perce in times of famine.  
    Franchere journeyed across the continent in 1814, and he reported that the people in the Okanagan were in a famine and surviving principally on black tree lichen [probably Bryoria fremontii]  (Anderson 1925).  He said that it was a common famine food.  Franchere tasted the lichen and thought it tasted like soap, but had heard that it could be cooked to taste good.
    It is interesting that Bryoria fremontii enjoyed in some areas and not liked in other areas and only used as a famine food.  This is perhaps do to variation in populations, or to contamination with other species.  There are indications that the lichen varies greatly in taste, depending on the locality, elevation, and species of substrate tree (Turner 1977; and Marshall 1977, cited in Turner and Davis 1993).  
    The preparation techniques are also likely to have had a great effect on the palatability.  Although the lichen could be eaten raw and unprocessed in times of need (Turner and Davis 1993), usually there was an extensive preparation.  The lichen was only harvested in any quantity from pre-tasted populations. The unprocessed lichen could be stored dry and then brought out to eat when it was needed (Turner and Davis 1993).  It was then soaked in fresh water for several hours or overnight, pounded or worked with the hands, and then pit cooking (Marshall 1977, cited in Turner and Davis 1993; Turner 1977; and Turner et al. 1980).  The cooked lichen loaves were then dried, and could be stored for up to 3 years without deterioration.  They were said to be a good sustainer on long trips (Turner, 1978).  Most people agree that cooking was necessary to make the lichen palatable.  The cooking of the lichen was probably breaking down the complex lichen carbohydrates into more readily digestible forms (Turner and Davis 1993).
    Teit (1928a) describes how the Coeur  D’Alêne cooked the lichen.  The lichen was cooked in pits similar to the steam pits used for cooking roots.  Hot stones would be placed at the bottom of a pit, then grass, roots or lichen, grass, bark, and then earth.  A fire was built on top and kept going while the food cooked, sometimes for two days.  According to Teit when they cooked lichen they did not put water into the pit to steam it like they did when cooking roots.  However, the lichen was often cooked along with camas, onions, and other kinds of roots.  Teit says that the practice of putting roots in with the lichen to cook is a relatively recent custom.  The lichen and any roots that were added were cooked in the pits until they became a paste, which was cooled and cut into bricks of different sizes.  
    Uphof (1959) reports that First People’s of the Pacific region of North America prepared Bryoria fremontii [Alectoria jubata] for consumption by boiling, fermenting, and then baking the lichen.  I have not seen another reference to this process in North America, and it sounds suspiciously like the European method of preparing lichens.
    Turner et al. (1980) records an alternative method of preparation that was occasionally used by the Okanagan.  The lichen would be roasted on a stick over a fire until it was crumbling, and then boiled in water to form a molasses like substance.
    Bryoria fremontii occasionally contains vulpinic acid, but usually has no lichen substances (Brodo and Hawksworth 1977).  A few other lichen compounds have been reported in Bryoria fremontii by different researchers in different areas.  These include atranorin, thamnolic acid, and alectorialic acid (Brodo and Hawksworth 1977).



Bryoria nitidula [“Tundra horsehair lichen”; syn. Alectoria nitidula]

FOLK NAMES:
    Tingaujaq [name also applied to Alectoria ochroleuca, Alectoria nigricans, and Bryocaulon
        divergens] (Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and Greenland Inuit)
    Tingaujaq [name probably also applied to other “dry black moss”, Alectoria nigricans and
        Bryocaulon divergens] (North Slope Inuit)

USES:    Animal feed (Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and Greenland Inuit), Tinder (North Slope Inuit)

    Bryoria nitidula, Alectoria ochroleuca, Alectoria nigricans, and Bryocaulon divergens, were called Tingaujaq by the Barrens-Keewatin, Baffin Island, Ungava-Labrador, and Greenland Inuit of the North American arctic (Wilson, 1979).  These lichens were known to be the favorite food of young caribou, and children would use them to lure in fawns so that they could touch them (Wilson, 1979).  The North Slope Inuit from the north coast of Alaska call a “dry black moss” (probably Bryoria nitidula, Alectoria nigricans, and/or Bryocaulon divergens) by the same name, and they used it as tinder (Wilson, 1979).
    Bryoria nitidula contains fumarprotocetraric acid (Brodo and Hawksworth 1977).



Buellia subsoriroides

FOLK NAMES:
    Maidi (Garwali: India)

USES:    Dye (Garwali: India)

NOTE:    Not found in North America

    This lichen is used by the Garhwali herdsmen of the Garhwal Himalayans in India as a substitute for henna to colour their fingertips and palms (Lal and Upreti 1995).  They spit saliva on the lichen and start rubbing it with a small piece of rough stone to get a small amount of paste.  This paste is applied to the fingertips and palms and left for 10 minutes.  The paste is then removed and the finger is stained orange-coloured.  
    Buellia subsoriroides contains baeomycesic acid, norstictic acid, and atranorin (Lal and Upreti 1995).



Caloplaca murorum [syn. Caloplaca saxicola]

SEE:    Caloplaca saxicola



Caloplaca saxicola [syn. Caloplaca murorum]

USES:    Dye (Sweden)

    This lichen was used in Sweden as a source of yellow dye for woolens (Uphof 1959).
    Caloplaca species contain anthraquinones (Brodo et al. 2001).



Candelariella vitellina [“Common gold speck lichen”]

USES:    Dye (Sweden)

    This lichen was used in Sweden to dye woolens yellow (Uphof 1959).
    Candelariella vitellina contains calysin, which is a yellow pigment (Brodo et al. 2001).



Cenomyce chlorophaea Flörke ex Sommerf [syn. Cladonia chlorophaea (Flörke ex Sommerf.) Spreng.]

SEE: Cladonia chlorophaea


Cenomyce stellaris Opiz [syn. Cladina stellaris (Opiz) Brodo]

SEE: Cladina stellaris



Cetraria aculeata [“Spiny heath lichen”; syn. Coelocaulon aculeatum, Cornicularia aculeata]

USES:     Dye (Scotland, Canary Islands)

    In Scotland and the Canary Islands a red-brown dye for woolens was made out of this lichen (Uphof 1959).
    Cetraria aculeata contains protolichesterinic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Cetraria crispa [syn. Cetraria ericetorum subsp. ericetorum, Cetraria islandica subsp. crispa]

SEE: Cetraria ericetorum


Cetraria cucullata [syn. Flavocetraria cucullata]

SEE: Flavocetraria cucullata



Cetraria ericetorum [“Iceland lichen”; partial syn. Cetraria crispa]

FOLK NAMES:
    Aouq (Aouk’) (Yuqpik: Alaska)
    Jaegel [Name also applied to other lichens reindeer eat, Cladina spp., Cetraria islandica,
       Cetraria ericetorum, Cetrariella delisei, and Stereocaulon spp.] (Saami: northern
       Scandinavia)

USES:    Food (Yuqpik: Alaska), Animal forage (Saami: northern Scandinavia)

    The Yuqpik of southwest Alaska used Cetraria ericetorum subsp. ericetorum [syn. Cetraria crispa] as food.  It was chopped up and added to various soups as a flavoring.  (Wilson 1979; and Oswalt 1957).
    Cetraria ericetorum is recognized by the Saami of Northern Scandinavia as one of the preferred foods of free-range reindeer, and they call these lichens Jaegel.  SEE: Cladina spp. for more information on lichens as forages.
    Cetraria ericetorum contains lichenesterinic acid, as well as two other unidentified substances (Brodo et al. 2001).



Cetraria fahlunensis [syn. Melanelia commixta]

SEE: Melanelia commixta


Cetraria glauca [syn. Platismatia glauca]

SEE: Platismatia glauca



Cetraria islandica [“Iceland Lichen”, “Iceland Moss”]

FOLK NAMES:
    Brødmose or Broedmåså [lit. bread moss], Matmåså [lit. food moss], or Svinmåså [lit.
       swine moss] (throughout Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland)

USES:    Food (Europe, especially Scandinavia), Medicine (Europe)

    Cetraria islandica has a rich history of being used medicinally in Europe.  In 1737 Linnaeus considered Cetraria islandica to be a very important medicine.  He said it was used as an emollient and tonic in chronic affections (Perez-Llano 1944).  In 1838 Lindley reported that in Europe Cetraria islandica was a favorite of some practitioners for treating pulmonary and digestive organs, particularly in phthisis, chronic catarrh, dyspepsia, and chronic dysentery.  It was also frequently given to sick persons as alimentary substance after the bitterness was removed by washing it in a weak alkali solution.  In 1846 the Pharmacopoeia Universalis listed several medicinal uses for the lichen (Saklani and Upreti 1992).  Until Lagasca reported finding Cetraria islandica in Puerto de Pajares in 1883, the people of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) were importing it for medicine from northerly regions (González-Tejero et al. 1995).
    Uphof (1959) reported that Cetraria islandica was still being used commercially in Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.  It was employed as a substitute for salve bases in the preparation of emulsions, as a laxative, as a culture medium for bacteria, and to reduce the bitter taste in some drugs (Uphof 1959; Piorkowski 1916, cited in Perez-Llano 1944). Saklani and Upreti (1992) report that Cetraria islandica is widely sold in health food stores in Sweden to treat lung disease, diabetes, and catarrh.  Airaksinen et al. (1986) that the lichen is also used in Sweden as an expectorant, appetizer and roborant, and to soften the gut contents.  Cetraria islandica is used in traditional medicine in Spain to treat catarrh, asthma, and to reduce inflammation (Muntané 1991, cited in González-Tejero et al. 1995).  Wheelwright (1935) also confirms the use of Cetraria islandica used by herbalists to teat catarrh, and says that it is used as a mild mucilaginous tonic.  Perez-Llano (1944) records that meals made with Cetraria islandica were said to be good for dyspeptics, and Brodo et al. records that the species was also used as a laxative.  Although it is apparent that Cetraria islandica was used for a wide range of ailments, it was generally used for problems related to the respitory or digestive systems.
    Both Llano (1944b) and Uphof (1959) record that Cetraria islandica has been used in the tanning industry.  The astringent depsides in the lichen are what makes it useful for tanning (Llano 1944b).  Cetraria islandica has also been used in Iceland to dye wool a brown colour (Uphof 1959).
    Cetraria islandica, along with several other lichens, is recognized by the Saami of Northern Scandinavia as a preferred food of free-range reindeer and they call these lichens Jaegel.  Icelanders, as well as Scandinavian farmers and Saami in northern Scandinavia, would harvest Cetraria islandica and use it as feed for domestic animals (Llano 1944b).  Smith (1921) records that in 1921 Cetraria islandica was being stored in large quantities and used as fodder for horses, oxen, cows, and pigs by Icelanders.  Cetraria islandica was often called Svinmåså [lit. swine moss] in Iceland because of its use as animal feed (Airaksinen et al. 1986).  Cetraria islandica was thought to be quite good as animal feed by Icelanders, but normally Cladina spp. would be used for animal feed instead and the Cetraria islandica would be saved for human use (Airaksinen et al. 1986).  Before the lichen was fed to animals it was usually processed to remove bitterness.  SEE: Cladina spp. for more information on lichens as food for domestic livestock or forage for free-range animals.
    Cetraria islandica, along with several other lichens, has been used to produce molasses in northern Russia.  SEE: Cladina spp. for more information on this use of lichens.  Cetraria islandica has also been used to make brandy in northern Europe and northern Russia.  This process was most commonly used with Cladina rangiferina, but several other lichen species have been used.  SEE: Making Brandy from Lichen under Cladina rangiferina.
    Cetraria islandica was the most important lichen for human food in Europe. It was called Brødmose [lit. bread moss] or Matmåså [lit. food moss] in Scandinavia and was as a regular food, as a famine food, and as a tasty desert.  Cladina rangiferina was used in the same way on occasion, but Cetraria islandica was much preferred.  Cetraria islandica was most commonly eaten in Iceland and Norway, and to a lesser extent in the rest of Scandinavia.  In times of famine it was eaten throughout northern Europe, especially in Norway, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union (Airaksinen et al. 1986). The last major collection of Cetraria islandica in Finland and Sweden happened during WWI at the recommendation of the authorities (Airaksinen et al. 1986).  It was occasionally sold commercially in Iceland and Scandinavia as Iceland Moss.  Icelanders made the most use of it, and would collect great masses of it yearly (Llano 1944b).  In Iceland the Jónsbók (law book) in 1280 mentions Gros (lichen, probably Cetraria spp. and Cladonia spp.) as a natural product that could not be collected without landowner permission (Airaksinen et al. 1986).
    Before Cetraria islandica could be eaten it had to be processed to remove the bitter lichen acids and debris.  The lichen was picked over by hand and the lower part of the lichen along with any extraneous pine needles or other foreign material was removed (Airaksinen et al. 2001).   Llano (1944b) records that the lichen was then boiled in lye.  Airaksinen et al. (1986) records that the lichen was soaked in an alkali solution for 1 to 5 days, and then often boiled afterwards in water.  Originally a solution of wood ash was used, thick enough to float a potato (about 2%).  Later on a 0.5% to 1.0% solution of sodium or potassium carbonate was used instead (Airaksinen et al. 1986).  Afterwards the lichen was thoroughly rinsed, oven dried, and finely ground into flour (Llano 1944b; Airaksinen et al. 1986).  According to Airaksinen et al. (1986) this treatment decreased the weight of the lichen, so that one kilogram of raw lichen would produce half a kilogram of processed flour.  In this processed state the lichen could be stored for many years (Llano 1944b).  
    The flour of Cetraria islandica was used to make bread, gruel, porridge, salads, and jelly.  To make bread the lichen flour was mixed with other meal.  Airaksinen et al. (1986) record that it was usually mixed with rye or oat meal, and Perez-Llano (1944) records that it was sometimes mixed with mashed potatoes as well as cereals.  Llano (1944b) records that bread was often made in northern Finland using Cetraria islandica and rye flour.  According to Llano (1944b) the bread was made with 75% lichen flour and 25% other meal, but Airaksinen et al. (1986) discovered that processed Cetraria islandica flour was toxic to mice if fed in their ration in a concentration greater than 25%.  Airaksinen et al. (1986) state that the lichen flour traditionally was not used as more than 25% of the bread.  The mixture of lichen flour and grain meal was baked like bread.  It was traditionally recommended that the bread had to be baked for at least 10 minutes or it would make you sick (Airaksinen et al. 1986).  The finished bread had a strong flavor like wheat bran, but with a hot taste, and kept well (Llano 1944b).
    Cetraria islandica flour was mixed with ship’s flour because it made the bread less friable and less subject to weevil attack (Perez-Llano 1944).  It was also used to make other dishes that are described by Llano (1944b).  It was mixed with elm cortex and grain and boiled in lots of water to make broth.  To make a porridge a container was filled a third with lichen and then boiled with water until it was thick.  The top broth and scum was skimmed off and then it was salted to taste, cooled until hard, and eaten with or without milk.  It could be redried in an oven and used as bread.  To make gruel, one pound of finely cut lichen was added to 1.5 - 2 quarts of water and cooked until half the water had evaporated.  It was then strained and the filtrate could be flavored with raisins or cinnamon.  The residue was eaten as a salad with oil, egg yolk, and sugar.  When the broth was allowed to cool it hardened into a jelly (formed by the lichenin and isolichenin).  Milk was added and it was used as a desert and mixed with lemon juice, sugar, chocolate, or almonds.  Lindley (1838) says that this jelly is very tasty if flavored with white wine.  Nelson (1951) records that the jelly can be mixed with milk to form a highly nutritious demulcent drink.  According to Airaksinen et al. (1986) the jelly is especially good if served with acidic berries like cranberries that help to mask the slightly acrid taste.
Interestingly, Lindley (1838) records that Sir John Franklin and his party could barely eat Cetraria islandica even when they were starving because of its bitterness.  This is undoubtedly because they were not processing it right.
    Brodo et al. (2001) reports that Cetraria islandica usually contains fumarprotocetraric, protolichenesterinic, and lichenesterinic acid.  According to Airaksinen et al. (1986), European populations of the lichen that they tested contain mainly fumarprotocetraric and alloprotocesteric acids, and a very small amount of usnic acid.  
    Some of the medicinal properties of Cetraria islandica have been supported in clinical trials. Kempe et al. (1997) performed randomized trials on patients who had undergone surgery on their nasal septum and thus were subjected to prolonged mouth breathing following surgery.  Cetraria islandica, administered daily in the form of 0.48 mg ‘Iceland moss’ lozenges, was found to prevent both dryness and inflammation of the oral cavity.
    Perez-Llano (1944) reports that cetraric acid extracted from Cetraria islandica was found to have no ill effects on animals when fed to them or injected into their blood.  It did induce peristaltic movement in the intestine.  Cetraric acid has also been used as a nerve excitant (Perez-Llano 1944).
    There is also some research to indicate that protolicheresterinic acid from Cetraria islandica may be valuable in the treatment of ulcers and cancers, and in AIDS prevention. It has been documented that protolicheresterinic acid has in vitro activity against Helicobacter pylori (Ingolfsdottir et al. 1997) and DNA polymerase activity of human immunodeficiency virus-1 reverse transcriptase (Pengsuparp et al. 1995).  Protolicheresterinic acid was also found to be antiproliferative and cytotoxic to T-47D and ZR-75-1 cell lines cultured from breast carcinomas, and to K-562 from erythro-leukemia (Ogmundsdottir et al. 1998).  Protolichesterinic acid may perform these functions by inhibiting 5-lipoxygenase, and this would also contribute to protolichesterinic acid's reported anti-inflammatory actions (Ogmundsdottir et al., 1998).
    Poulsson (1906; cited in Perez-Llano 1944) made bread from both Cetraria islandica and Cetraria nivalis and tested them on humans.  Between 46 and 49% of the carbohydrates in Cetraria islandica were digested, but Cetraria nivalis caused such intestinal disturbances that the experiment had to be stopped.
    Airaksinen et al. (1986) also did experiments on the edibility of Cetraria islandica.  They found that Cetraria islandica was toxic to mice when fed to them in a ration of 50% lichen by mass.  The mice all showed gastrointestinal symptoms and died.  The lichen was a little less toxic if it was boiled for 10 minutes, and a bit better than that if soaked in wood ash solution for two days.  Both of these procedures were often done when the lichen was traditionally prepared for human consumption.  If both of these treatments were done the lichen was not near as toxic to the mice but it still killed them if they were fed the lichen in high concentrations for extended periods.
    Traditionally, people would have eaten about 50% lichen by volume, which is about 25% by mass.  Airaksinen et al. then fed rats a ration of 25% lichen by mass, after it was soaked in ash water for two days, boiled for ten minutes, and dried.  Rats tolerated this ration quite well, but may have shown some signs of heavy metal poisoning from lead that was accumulated in the lichen.
    Airaksinen et al. (1986) reports on the nutrient value of Cetraria islandica.  The lichen was found to be 50-80% carbohydrate, 3% protein, 2.6% fat, and 0.75% ascorbic acid.  The carbohydrate was lichenin and isolichenin, and after hydrolysis it yielded 97% glucose, galactose, and mannose.  There was not much ash (1-2%) compared to higher plants, and not much calcium, but there were high ash concentrations of some elements such as aluminum, iron, nickel, cobalt, chromium, fluorine, and arsenic.  Cetraria islandica was also found to absorb some toxic elements from the environment.  It was particularly high in lead, but also high in cadmium and mercury.  The natural radionuclides Po-210 and Pb-210, as well as Cs-137 and Sr-90 from nuclear test explosions, were also found to accumulate in the lichen.
    Chatfield and Adams (1940; cited in Arnason et al. 1981) also did a nutrient analysis of Cetraria islandica and found it to be 13.7% water, 1.5% ash, 0% protein, 0% carbohydrate, and 2.4% fat.  They obviously had some error in their methodology.



Cetraria juniperina [syn. Lichen juniperinus]

NOTE:  This name is cited in ethnographic literature but it is no longer a valid taxon.  The species Cetraria juniperina is generally synonymous with the genus Vulpicida.  In North America this name was applied to Vulpicida canadensis or Vulpicida viridis.


Cetraria nivalis [syn. Flavocetraria nivalis]

SEE: Flavocetraria nivalis


Cetraria pinastri [syn. Vulpicida pinastri]

SEE: Vulpicida pinastri



Cetrariella delisei [“Snow bed Iceland lichen”; syn. Cetraria delisei]

FOLK NAMES:
    Jaegel [Name also applied to other lichens reindeer eat, Cladina spp., Cetraria islandica,
       Cetraria ericetorum, and Stereocaulon spp.] (Saami: northern Scandinavia)

USES:    Animal forage (Saami: northern Scandinavia)

    Cetrariella delisei is recognized by the Saami of Northern Scandinavia as one of the preferred foods of free-range reindeer, and they call these lichens Jaegel.  SEE: Cladina spp. for more information on lichens as forages.
    Cetrariella delisei contains gyrophoric acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Chrysothrix chlorina [“Sulfur dust lichen”; syn. Lepraria chlorina]

USES: Dye (Scandinavia)

    Chrysothrix chlorina was used in Scandinavia to make a brown dye for dye woolens (Uphof 1959).
    This lichen contains calycin and vulpinic acid, both of which are yellow pigments (Brodo et al. 2001).



Cladina spp. [“Reindeer lichen”; partial syn. Cladonia spp.]

FOLK NAMES:
    Jaegel [Name also applied to other lichens reindeer eat, Cetraria islandica, Cetraria
       ericetorum, Cetrariella delisei, and Stereocaulon spp.] (Saami: northern Scandinavia)
    Gros [lit. “Lichen”; name generally applied to Cladina spp. or Cetraria spp.] (Iceland)

USES:    Food (Ingalik and other groups from Alaska to Baffin Island; Iceland, Scandinavia), Forage (Saami), Animal Feed (Saami, Scandinavians, Iceland, prehistoric Switzerland), Molasses (northern Russia), Alcohol (Sweden, northern Europe, northern Russia)

    Many different lichens are eaten by reindeer and other arctic animals, but Cladina mitis, Cladina rangiferina, and Cladina stellaris are main food of reindeer and caribou (Brodo et al. 2001).  Because of there role as food for animals, these lichens have been important to several groups of people. These lichens are directly used by the Saami of northern Scandinavia who herd reindeer, and indirectly by other northern First People’s that live off caribou, wood buffalo, musk-ox, and other animals of the arctic that feed on the lichens.
    The partially digested lichen (generally Cladina spp.) found in the stomachs of caribou was eaten by the Ingalik as stomach ice cream.  The lichen is taken out of the caribou’s rumen and put in a dish.  Raw, mashed fish eggs of any kind are added.  The mixture is then thoroughly stirred like ice cream (and perhaps frozen as well?).  It tastes strong but it is eaten by men, women, and children and is a favorite dish (Osgood 1959).  Brodo et al. (2001) records that other groups from Alaska to Baffin Island eat this lichen in the same way.
    The reindeer lichens have special significance to the Saami (Lapplanders) of northern Scandinavia, who are nomadic reindeer herders.  Because reindeer eat lichens and not mosses the Saami recognize lichens as being distinct from mosses and have several names for different types of lichens (Lynge1921, cited in Perez-Llano 1944).
    Cladina rangiferina, Cladina arbuscula, Cladina stellaris, Cetraria islandica, Cetraria ericetorum, Cetrariella delisei, and Stereocaulon spp. are recognized by the Saami as being the preferred forage of reindeer in the field.  They call these lichens Jaegel.  Alectoreae and Usneae lichens are quite liked by reindeer, but do not form a huge part of their diet.  The Saami call these lichens Lappo.  Parmeleae and Gyrophoreae grow on rocks and trees and are eaten by reindeer when no other lichens are available.  These are called Gadna by the Saami
    The Saami also recognize that overgrazing and trampling can drastically reduce lichen cover and change species composition, and that there is a unique ecology to lichen-reindeer ecosystems (Lynge 1921, cited in Perez-Llano 1944).  Stereocaulon paschale is an increaser under grazing pressure while Cladina stellaris is a decreaser.   There is specific succession of lichen species after disturbance, like fire, trampling, or overgrazing.  And the reindeer prefer the younger lichens.
Saami keep the herds of reindeer constantly on the move during the critical winter period so the reindeer do not overgraze the lichen  (Llano 1944b).  Llano (1944b) reports that the U. S. A. imported some reindeer to Alaska with the idea that the Inuit could raise reindeer just like Saami.  But this did not work and US Department of Agriculture in Alaska reported in 1929 that there was serious lichen overgrazing from the imported reindeer (Llano 1944b).  Overgrazing has also been a problem in Scandinavia.  In 1916 there were problems with overgrazing around Finmarken, and regulations had to be passed and enforced for some time (Lynge 1921, cited in Perez-Llano 1944).
    Besides being grazed by reindeer, lichens are also harvested and fed to domestic livestock. The practice of feeding lichens to livestock is very ancient, as there were prehistoric remains found near Lake Constance in Switzerland that showed that lichens were used as fodder even back then (Perez-Llano 1944). Cladina rangiferina (and other Cladina species and Cetraria islandica, although the latter lichen is much less abundant) is the preferred lichen to collect for animal fodder in Scandinavia.  Stereocaulon paschale is also collected, and Bryoria spp. [Alectoria jubata] is a common substitute if Cladina rangiferina is low (Smith 1921).  Llano (1944b) reports that most Saami have a goat or cow in addition to their reindeer and they harvest lichen to feed them.  And it is common for Scandinavian farmers in the north to harvest lichens for their livestock.  According to Llano (1944b) this causes some friction between the two groups of people because the northern Scandinavian farmers harvest the lichens more intensely than the Saami, and deplete the lichen.  Both groups harvest the lichen when it is wet (40% to 70% water) so it is not brittle.  The Saami traditionally remove approximately one quarter of the lichen and do this by clearing away broad because this improves production.  In contrast, Norwegian farmers usually remove two thirds of the lichen when they harvest it.  The farmers then bundle the lichen up, transport it, dry it, and then store it for their livestock.
    Usually there is about 700 kg of Cetraria islandica per square kilometer.  Cladina stellaris can have much higher yields, the must productive areas having up to 1400 or 1500 kg per 1000 square meters (Perez-Llano 1944).  One man can gather 50 to 100 kilograms of lichen a day, or 300 to 400 kilograms a day if he has implements (Llano 1944b).  After a field has been harvested it takes about thirty years to regenerate (Perez-Llano 1944).  According to Scotter (1964; cited in Kauppi 1979) Cladina spp. can take more than a century to regain dominance after a serious disturbance like a fire.  Hand harvesting is harder on lichens than being grazed by reindeer because reindeer crop the lichens close but still leave some behind, while hand harvesting removes all of the lichen (Llano 1944b).
It would require about 15 to 56 hectares of land to support 10 cows if they were just fed lichen, but most livestock would only be supplemented with lichen (Perez-Llano 1944). The lichen can yield a high percentage of carbohydrate, but first the bitter lichen compounds have to be removed.  People would usually soak the lichen in water for 24 hours before feeding it, or add potassium carbonate to the solution to speed up the process (Perez-Llano 1944).  The lichen could also be boiled in lye and then thoroughly rinsed before being fed (Llano 1944b).  Often before the lichen was fed hot water would be poured over it and then it would be mixed with straw and sprinkled with a little salt (Smith 1921).  The various methods of processing would remove fumarprotocetraric and other acids from the lichen.
    Hesse (1916; cited in Perez-Llano 1944) reports that Cetraria islandica has 3.35 times more carbohydrate than potatoes, and Cladonia rangiferina has 2.5 times more.  Besides being a useful calorie source, it was generally thought that an addition of some lichen to livestock diet was beneficial to the animal’s health (Perez-Llano 1944).  The reindeer lichen isn’t that good a feed though, as it usually only contains 1% to 5% protein (low for a lichen and low for a forage) and is generally only worth one third of its weight of poor fodder (Llano 1944b).
    Reindeer lichens (Cladina spp.) were also eaten by humans in Scandinavia, but not as often as Cetraria islandica.  The use of these lichens for famine food is described by Airaksinen et al. (1986).  Cladina rangiferina, Cladina arbuscula, and Cladina stellaris were all used for food in times of famine.  In Iceland the Jónsbók [“law book”] in 1280 mentions Gros (lichen, probably Cetraria spp. and Cladina spp.) as a natural product that could not be collected without landowner permission.  The last major collection of Cetraria spp. and Cladina spp. in Finland and Sweden happened during WWI at the recommendation of the authorities.
    Traditionally people would have usually processed the lichen by soaking it in ash water for a few days and/or boiling it for 10 to 20 minutes.  The lichen would then be dried and stored for future use.   The processed lichen would be mixed with grain flour at a ratio of about one part lichen to three parts flour by mass, and then used to make bread.  
    Processing the lichen was probably necessary to remove the slightly toxic lichen compounds.  Airaksinen et al. (1986) discovered that reindeer lichen was toxic to mice when it was fed to them at 50% of their diet.  Even when the lichen was soaked in ash and boiled, when it was fed to mice it still caused gastrointestinal symptoms within 3 days and then killed them.  The processing didn’t seem to help the mice much in that instance, but it was more successful in reducing fatalities at lower concentrations of lichen in the diet, or with more palatable lichens.
    There were also experiments in the Kola Peninsula that tried to produce molasses from eight species of lichens (including Cladina spp., Cetraria islandica, and Alectoria ochroleuca) (described by Llano 1944b and Brodo et al. 2001).  They were looking for alternative glucose sources for northern locations and found lichens to be rich in polyhexoses with little cellulose or pentosan.  In 1944 two small factories in Kirovsk were producing molasses from lichens.  They treated the lichens with weak alkali to make the lichen acids soluble.  Then they hydrolyzed the lichen with dilute H2SO4, neutralized this with chalk, and purified it with activated charcoal to produce a molasses containing 65-70% glucose.  But when the molasses was produced from Cladina spp., especially Cladina stellaris, it had an unknown bitter taste.
    Several Cladina species have been used extensively for short periods of time to manufacture brandy.  SEE: Making brandy from lichen under Cladina rangiferina.



Cladina aberrans (Abbayes) Hale & W. L. Culb. [syn. Cladina stellaris (Opiz) Brodo]

SEE: Cladina stellaris



Cladina arbuscula [“Reindeer lichen”; syn. Cladonia arbuscula, Cladonia sylvatica]

FOLK NAMES:
    Jaegel [Name also applied to other lichens reindeer eat, Cladina spp., Cetraria islandica,
       Cetraria ericetorum, Cetrariella delisei, and Stereocaulon spp.] (Saami: northern
       Scandinavia)
    Gros [lit. “Lichen”; name generally applied to Cladina spp. or Cetraria spp.] (Iceland)


USES:    Perfume (Europe?), Food (Iceland, Scandinavia), Forage (Saami), Animal Feed (Saami, Scandinavians, Iceland, prehistoric Switzerland), Molasses (northern Russia)

    Uphof (1959) lists Cladina arbuscula as a source of essential oil for perfumery.
    The Saami also recognized this lichen as one of the preferred foods of free range reindeer and called it Jaegel along with the other lichens that were commonly eaten by reindeer.  Cladina spp. are also collected as fodder for domestic livestock in Scandinavia by the Scandinavians and the Saami.  Cladina spp. are common food of reindeer, caribou, and other arctic animals and thus is utilized by other northern peoples as well.  Cladina arbuscula, along with some other Cladina species and Cetraria spp., has been used as a famine food in Scandinavia.  Cladina species have also been used to produce molasses in northern Russia.  SEE: Cladina spp. for further notes on these uses.
    Cladina arbuscula contains fumarprotocetraric and usnic acids (Brodo et al. 2001).



Cladina mitis [“Green reindeer lichen”]

FOLK NAMES:
    Jaegel [Name also applied to other lichens reindeer eat, Cladina spp., Cetraria islandica,
       Cetraria ericetorum, Cetrariella delisei, and Stereocaulon spp.] (Saami: northern
       Scandinavia)
    Gros [lit. “Lichen”; name generally applied to Cladina spp. or Cetraria spp.] (Iceland)


USES:    Food (Iceland, Scandinavia), Forage (Saami), Animal Feed (Saami, Scandinavians, Iceland, prehistoric Switzerland), Molasses (northern Russia)

    Cladina spp. are collected as fodder for domestic livestock in Scandinavia by the Scandinavians and the Saami.  Cladina mitis and other Cladina spp. are common food of reindeer, caribou, and other arctic animals and thus is utilized by other northern peoples as well.  Cladina spp. and Cetraria spp. have been used as a famine food in Scandinavia.  Cladina spp. have also been used to produce molasses in northern Russia.  SEE: Cladina spp. for further notes on these uses.
    Cladina mitis contains usnic acid, and often rangiformic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Cladina rangiferina (L.) Nyl. [“Gray reindeer lichen”; syn. Cladonia rangiferina (L.) F. H.
Wigg., Lichen rangiferus L. (em. Ach.)]

FOLK NAMES:
    Tuntutnuukaik [lit. “Reindeer food”] (Yuqpik Inuit: Alaska)
    Niqagasak (Ungava-Labrador Inuit)
    Jaegel [Name also applied to other lichens reindeer eat, Cladina spp., Cetraria islandica,
       Cetraria ericetorum, Cetrariella delisei, and Stereocaulon spp.] (Saami: northern
       Scandinavia)
    Gros [lit. “Lichen”; name generally applied to Cladina spp. or Cetraria spp.] (Iceland)


USES:    Food (Ojibwa, Iceland, Scandinavia, Ingalik and other groups from Alaska to Baffin Island), Alcohol (Sweden, Northern Europe, Northern Russia), Forage (Saami), Animal Feed (Saami, Scandinavians, Iceland, prehistoric Switzerland), Molasses (northern Russia)

    Cladina rangiferina is used by the Ojibwa as food (Reagan 1928: pg 246 cited in Arnason et al. 1981 and in Yarnall 1964).  Brodo et al. (2001) also records that Canadian First Peoples used this lichen as food.  Lindley (1838) recorded Cladina rangiferina as one of the most nutritious lichens, nearly free from bitterness.
    Besides eating it, the Ojibwa use Cladina rangiferina as a medicine.  They call the lichen Asa’gunink and boil it, and then use the water in a bath to wash newborn babies (Smith 1932: pg 373; cited in Arnason 1981 and in Vogel 1970).  Cladina rangiferina is also used as a medicine by the Aleut (Alaska).  It is taken as a tea for chest pains, and hunters who are climbing hills eat it to maintain their wind (Smith 1973).  Brodo et al. reports that Canadian woodsmen used this lichen as a stimulating tea.  
    González-Tejero et al. (1995) reports that Cladina rangiferina was used commercially in Europe and the Soviet Union until recently for the production of the sodium salt of usnic acid for a mild antibiotic.  Production was stopped because of the depletion of the lichen and the discovery of more active substances.  It is interesting to note, however, that Cladina rangiferina is the one Cladina spp. that does not contain usnic acid.  They were probably referring to Cladina stellaris.
    Cladina rangiferina was used by the Belcher Island Inuit as fuel.  It burned with an intense, short lived flame (Freeman 1967).  This lichen was called Tuntutnuukaik [“Reindeer food”] by the Yuqpik Inuit of southwest Alaska, but wasn’t used for anything (Wilson 1979).  The Ungava-Labrador Inuit called it Niqagasak (Wilson 1979).
    Cladina rangiferina  has been used in some parts of Europe for a iron-red dye for wool (Uphof 1959).  Uphof (1959) also reports that it contains essential oil and suggests the lichen for use in perfumery.
    Cladina rangiferina is one of the preferred lichens to collect as fodder for domestic livestock in Scandinavia by the Scandinavians and the Saami.  The Saami also recognized it as one of the preferred foods of free range reindeer and called it Jaegel along with the other lichens that were commonly eaten by reindeer.  Cladina rangiferina is a common food of reindeer, caribou, and other arctic animals and thus is utilized by other northern peoples as well.  It  has also been used as a famine food in Scandinavian, and to produce molasses in northern Russia.  SEE: Cladina spp. for further notes on these uses.
    Cladina rangiferina contains fumarprotocetraric acid and atranorin.  Unlike most Cladina, this lichen does not contain usnic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).  Usnic acid is known to be a slight feeding deterrent and an antibiotic.  Barberie (1946; cited in Arnason 1981) found that Cladina rangiferina contains 1.4% ash, 5.4% protein, 32.9% fiber, 2.1% fat, and 0.501% niacin (dry weight).  An unknown lichen species that was probably Cladina rangiferina was analyzed by Beeson et al. (1972) and found to have 20.7% ash, 13.2% crude fiber, 4.8% ether extract, 54.9% N-free extract, 6.4% protein (roughly 3% digestible by livestock), 3.7% calcium, and 0.09% phosphorus (dry weight).  The Cladina species generally have lower protein percentages than other lichens.

Making brandy from lichen
    Several lichens have been used extensively for short periods of time in northern Europe and Russia to produce brandy.  Cladina rangiferina was the most commonly used lichen for this purpose.  The process to manufacture alcohol from lichen was discovered early in the 19th century by Roy of Tonnerre, and was described by Léorier (1825; cited in Smith 1921).  Roy had originally used mainly the lichens Physcia ciliaris, Ramalina fraxinea, Ramalina fastigiata, Ramalina farinacea, and Usnea florida.
    The process was further improved by Sten Stenburg, a professor of chemistry in Stockholm.  Stenberg worked more with the lichens Cladina rangiferina, Cetraria islandica, and Bryoria spp. [Alectoria jubata], and researched how to best use them to produce alcohol.   Stenberg made use of his research by starting a distillery near Stockholm.  He published papers in 1868 that contained full instructions for the collection and preparation of the lichens (Stenberg 1868a, Stenberg 1868b; both cited in Smith 1921; Llano 1944b).  In 1870 it was recommended that lichens be used for production of alcohol in order to save grain (Stahlschmidt 1870).  After Stenberg started his distillery, other distilleries were started northern Europe using the same lichens and process as Stenberg (Richard 1877).
    The industry of making alcohol from lichens was exported from Sweden to the northern provinces (Archangel, Pskow, Nowgorod, etc.) of Russia.  Arendt (1872) reported that there was brandy made from lichens that was exhibited by various distillers at the Russian Industrial Exhibition.  According to Arendt the brandy was of high quality and especially liked by the English and French visitors.
The production of alcohol from lichens grew to a booming industry in Sweden.  In Sweden in 1871 a total of 115,000 kilograms of reindeer lichen were used to make 5500 L of spirits (Airaksinen et al. 1986).  Henneguy wrote in 1883 (cited in Smith 1921) that it was a large and increasing industry.  However, the industry must have been short lived because in 1884 Hellbom (cited in Smith 1921) wrote that the various lichen distilleries had all closed down, because of the exhaustion of lichens in the neighborhood, and the impossibility of obtaining sufficient supplies of such slow growing plants.
Stenburg (1868a; 1868b) used weak sulfuric or nitric acid to transform the lichenin of the lichen thallus into glucose which was readily fermented.  Stenberg found that 68% of the weight in Cladina rangiferina was a sugar that could make good brandy.  Using his method he claimed one kilogram of lichen produced 0.5 liters of alcohol.
    Stahlschmidt (1870) also described the process of fermenting lichen.  First the polysaccharides in the lichen were converted into glucose.  This was done by boiling the lichen with hydrochloric acid (7 to 10 percent by mass) and by using steam.  The solution was then saturated with chalk, and fermented.  Using this process he claimed that one kilogram of lichen produced 0.28 liters of alcohol.
    Llano (1944b) further describes the process. According to Llano, Cladina rangiferina and Cetraria islandica have been found to yield up to 66% polysaccharides which are readily hydrolyzed to glucose and then almost completely fermented to alcohol.  Cladina rangiferina can yield 54.5% sugar which ferments to produce.  Maximum returns are obtained by steaming lichens for one hour under 3 atmospheres pressure, adding 2.5% of 25% hydrochloric acid, resteaming for the same period of time and pressure, and finally neutralizing the product. Lichen acids (like cetraric acid) may be present up to 11% of the dry weight, along with sodium chloride, and these may retard the process.  Adding H₃PO₄ to the solution can accelerate fermentation.  According to Llano, using this process one kilogram of lichen produced 0.176 to 0.282 liters of alcohol.



Cladina stellaris (Opiz) Brodo [“Star-tipped reindeer lichen”; syn. Cenomyce stellaris Opiz,
Cladonia alpestris (L.) Rabenh., Cladonia stellaris (Opiz) Pouzar & Vezda;  syn. with Cladina stellaris var. aberrans (Abbayes) Ahti are: Cladina aberrans (Abbayes) Hale & W. L. Culb., Cladonia aberrans (Abbayes) Stuckenb., Cladonia alpestris f. aberrans Abbayes]

FOLK NAMES:
    Jaegel [Name also applied to other lichens reindeer eat, Cladina spp., Cetraria islandica,
       Cetraria ericetorum, Cetrariella delisei, and Stereocaulon spp.] (Saami: northern
       Scandinavian)
    Gros [lit. “Lichen”; name generally applied to Cladina spp. or Cetraria spp.] (Iceland)

USES:    Decoration (Scandinavian and Europe), Medicine (Europe), Food (Iceland, Scandinavian, Ingalik and other groups from Alaska to Baffin Island), Forage (Saami), Animal Feed (Saami, Scandinavians, Iceland, prehistoric Switzerland), Molasses (northern Russia)

    According to Brodo et al. (2001) tons of this lichen are used in the pharmaceutical industry in Europe as a source of usnic acid.  Usnic acid is effective against gram-negative bacteria and is used in topical ointments for products such as Usno (Brodo et al. 2001).  In 1979 Kauppi recorded that this lichen was previously used as a source of usnic acid, but wasn’t being used any more.
González-Tejero et al. (1995) reports that Cladina rangiferina [probably referring to Cladina stellaris] was used commercially in Europe and the Soviet Union until recently for the production of the sodium salt of usnic acid for a mild antibiotic.  Production was stopped because of the depletion of the lichen and the discovery of more active substances.  Because Cladina rangiferina is the one Cladina species that does not contain usnic acid, they were probably referring to Cladina stellaris.
Cladina stellaris is used ornamentally in wreaths, floral decorations, and architect’s models and this use is described by Kauppi (1979).  Cladina stellaris was used because it is abundant, durable, uniform in colour, and looks pretty.  It is used to construct wreaths that are often placed on the graves of relatives on All Saints Day.  Because of the durability of the lichen, these wreaths will last in good condition all winter.  The lichen is also commonly used in floral decorations, especially at Christmas.
    Export of this lichen began in 1910.  A quality control act was introduced in 1931, and when Kauppi reported on this in 1979 it was being enforced by specially trained inspectors.
Between 1970 and 1975 about 17,900 tonnes of Cladina stellaris were exported from Scandinavian.  The total value of the lichen export in this six year period was over £ 8 million.  Of the amount exported, 83% was used in West Germany, but Denmark (10%), Austria (3%), Netherlands (1%), Switzerland (1%), U. S. A. (0.8%), Sweden (0.6%), France (0.4%), Italy (0.2%), Belgium (0.2%), and some other countries (0.5%) also imported the lichen.   As well, a substantial quantity of the lichen is consumed domestically in Scandinavian.
    In good lichen forests, the returns from lichen can be many times that of the returns from the standing timber.  In the 1970’s, each year the lichen business in Finland would employ about 500 people full time, and about 1000 - 2000 people would get some income from it.  On the island of Hailuoto, about one third of the total income was from lichen.  Usually, about 50% of the income went to the landowner, 25% went to wages, and 25% went for packaging, warehouse, transport, and administration.
    The lichen must be picked wet, so if it is dry when it is to be harvested the field is watered first.  It is hand picked and the better lichens are placed in trays, dried, and then put into boxes to be shipped.  If too much lichen is removed the production deteriorates.  Lichen is also being destroyed from other sources, such as clear cutting, gravel quarrying, trampling, etc.  To maintain high production, Kauppi recommends that only about 20% of the lichen should be removed at any one time, and sites should only be picked over 5-6 year intervals.  According to Kauppi, systematic management of lichen resources can maintain and even increase production.
    Cladina spp. are collected as fodder for domestic livestock in Scandinavian by the Scandinavians and the Saami.  The Saami recognized Cladina stellaris as one of the preferred foods of free range reindeer and called it Jaegel along with the other lichens that were commonly eaten by reindeer.  Cladina stellaris is a common food of reindeer, caribou, and other arctic animals and thus is utilized by other northern peoples as well.  Because Cladina stellaris is preferred as forage it is recognized as a decreaser under grazing pressure.  Cladina species have also been used as a famine food in Scandinavian.  Cladina stellaris, along with some other lichens, has also been used to produce molasses in northern Russia.  It was noted that when Cladina stellaris was used to make the molasses it was particularly bitter.  SEE: Cladina spp. for further notes on these uses.
    Cladina stellaris contains usnic acid and perlatolic acid, and occasionally psoromic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Cladonia spp. [Pixie cup lichens]

FOLK NAMES:
    Pen’pen’emekxísxn’ [lit. “liver on rock”; name probably also applied to any lichen that looked
        similar to Cladonia chlorophaea] (Okanagan-Colville)

USES: Medicine (Okanagan-Colville)

    Cladonia chlorophaea and other cup lichens were used as medicine by the Okanagan-Colville.  The entire lichen was boiled and the solution was used externally to wash sores which were slow to heal (Turner et al. 1980).
    Burkholder et al. tested a wide variety of Cladonia species for antibiotic properties, and found that the crude extracts of many of them inhibited the growth of some bacteria.  The Cladonia species that had antibiotic properties were (parenthesis following lichen name indicate lichen substances present as according to Brodo et al. 2001).:
Cladonia atlantica (baeomycesic and squamatic acid),
Cladonia caespiticia (fumarprotocetraric acid),
Cladonia capitata,
Cladonia caroliniana (usnic and squamatic acid),
Cladonia coniocraea (fumarprotocetraric acid),
Cladonia cristatella (usnic, barbatic, and didymic acid),
Cladonia cryptochlorophaea,
Cladonia furcata,
Cladonia glauca (squamatic acid),
Cladonia grayi (grayanic and sometimes protofumarcetraric acid),
Cladonia incrassata (usnic and squamatic acid, sometimes didymic acid),
Cladonia pyxidata (protofumarcetraric acid),
Cladonia rei [syn. Cladonia nemoxyna] (homosekikaic acid and sometimes protofumarcetraric acid),
Cladonia squamosa (squamatic or thamnolic acid),
Cladonia strepsilis (baeomycesic and squamatic acid, often barbatic acid and strepsilin),
Cladonia uncialis (usnic acid, sometimes squamatic acid).  
As well, two other Cladoniaceae were found to have antibiotic properties.  These include:
Cladina subtenius (usnic and protofumarcetraric acid),
Pycnothelia  papillaria [syn. Cladonia papillaria] (atranorin and protolichesterinic acid).  




Cladonia aberrans (Abbayes) Stuckenb. [syn. Cladina stellaris (Opiz) Brodo]

SEE: Cladina stellaris


Cladonia alpestris (L.) Rabenh. [syn. Cladina stellaris (Opiz) Brodo]

SEE: Cladina stellaris


Cladonia arbuscula [syn. Cladina arbuscula]

SEE: Cladina arbuscula



Cladonia chlorophaea (Flörke ex Sommerf.) Spreng. [“Mealy pixie-cup”; syn. Cenomyce
chlorophaea Flörke ex Sommerf.; Cladonia pyxidata subsp. chlorophaea (Flörke ex Sommerf.) Schaer.; Cladonia pyxidata var. chlorophaea (Flörke ex Sommerf.) Flörke]

FOLK NAMES:
    Pen’pen’emekxísxn’ [lit. “liver on rock”; name probably also applied to other pixie cup
       lichens] (Okanagan-Colville)

USES: Medicine (Okanagan-Colville)

    Cladonia chlorophaea and other cup lichens were used as medicine by the Okanagan-Colville.  The entire lichen was boiled and the solution was used externally to wash sores which were slow to heal (Turner et al. 1980).
    Cladonia pyxidata, a closely related lichen growing in the same area, was found by Burkholder et al. (1944) to have antibiotic properties. A crude extract of this lichen inhibited the growth of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus.  Cladonia pyxidata and Cladonia chlorophaea contain the same lichen substance, fumarprotocetraric acid (Brodo et al. 2001).  Many other Cladonia species are known to have antibiotic properties.  SEE: Cladonia spp.



Cladonia coccifera (L.) Willd. [syn. Lichen cocciferus L.; likely syn. genera Pyxidium,
Scyphiphorus, Scyphophorus, Scyphophora]

USES: Dye (Europe), Medicine (Europe?)

    Cladonia coccifera was used in some parts of Europe as a red-purple dye for wool (Uphof 1959).  The Pharmacopoeia Universalis of 1846 lists some medicinal uses for this lichen (Saklani and Upreti 1992).  Lindley (1838) records that Scyphophorus cocciferus is an astringent and a febrifugal.
    Cladonia coccifera contains zeorin and usnic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).  Usnic acid is a known antibiotic.  Many Cladonia species are known to have antibiotic properties.  SEE: Cladonia spp.
 


Cladonia fimbriata (L.) Fr. [“Trumpet lichen”; syn. Cladonia major, Lichen fimbriatus L.]

USES: Dye (Europe?)

    Cladonia fimbriata has been used as red dye for wool (Uphof 1959).
    Cladonia fimbriata contains fumarprotocetraric acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Cladonia gracilis (L.) Willd. [“Smooth Cladonia”; syn. Lichen gracilis L.]

USES: Dye (Europe?)

    Cladonia gracilis has been used as ash-green dye for wool (Uphof 1959).
    Cladonia gracilis contains fumarprotocetraric acid and sometimes atranorin (Brodo et al. 2001).



Cladonia miniata G. Mey. [??syn. Cladonia sanguinea Eschw.]

USES: Medicine (Brazil)

NOTE:    This lichen does not occur in North America

    According to Lindley (1838), people in Brazil considered Cladonia sanguinea to be an excellent remedy for aphthae.  It rubbed down with sugar and water before it was used.



Cladonia pyxidata (L.) Hoffm. [“Pebbled pixie-cup”; syn. Lichen pyxidatus L.; likely
synonymous genera: Pyxidium, Scyphiphorus, Scyphophorus, Scyphophora]

USES: Medicine (Europe?), Dye (Europe?)

    The Pharmacopoeia Universalis of 1846 lists some medicinal uses for Cladonia pyxidata (Saklani and Upreti 1992).  This lichen has also been used to make ash-green dye for wool (Uphof 1959).  Lindley (1838) records that Scyphophorus pyxidatus is an astringent and a febrifugal.
    Cladonia pyxidata was found by Burkholder et al. (1944) to have antibiotic properties.  A crude extract of this lichen inhibited the growth of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus.  This lichen contains protofumarcetraric acid (Brodo et al. 2001).
 


Cladonia pyxidata subsp. chlorophaea (Flörke ex Sommerf.) Schaer [syn. Cladonia
pyxidata var chlorophaea (Flörke ex Sommerf.) Flörke; Cladonia chlorophaea (Flörke ex Sommerf.) Spreng.]

SEE: Cladonia chlorophaea


Cladonia rangiferina (L.) F. H. Wigg. [syn. Cladina rangiferina (L.) Nyl.]

SEE: Cladina rangiferina


Cladonia sanguinea Eschw. [??syn. Cladonia miniata G. Mey.]

SEE: Cladonia miniata G. Mey.


Cladonia stellaris (Opiz) Pouzar & Vezda [syn. Cladina stellaris (Opiz) Brodo]

SEE: Cladina stellaris


Cladonia sylvatica [syn. Cladina arbuscula]

SEE: Cladina arbuscula


Cladonia vermicularis (Sw.) Th. Fr [??syn. Thamnolia vermicularis (Sw.) Schaer.]

SEE: Thamnolia vermicularis


Coelocaulon aculeatum [syn. Cetraria aculeata]

SEE: Cetraria aculeata


Cornicularia divergens [syn. Bryocaulon divergens]

SEE: Bryocaulon divergens



Dactylina arctica [“Arctic finger lichen”]

FOLK NAMES:
    Nagjjuujaq [name also applied to other unused yellow-green lichens such as Flavocetraria
       nivalis] (Barrens-Keewatin Inuit)

    The Barrens-Keewatin Inuit had a name for this lichen but no use has been recorded (Wilson 1979).
    This lichen is chemically quite variable, but can contain physodalic, physodic, and gyrophoric acids (Brodo et al. 2001).



Dermatocarpon miniatum [“Common stickleback”, “Leather lichen”]

USES: Dye (Europe)

    Dermatocarpon miniatum has been used in some parts of Europe to produce an ash-green dye for wool (Uphof 1959).
    Dermatocarpon miniatum may contain antibiotic compounds as Burkholder et al. (1944) found that crude extracts of this lichen inhibit the growth of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus.  However, Brodo et al. (2001) do not record any lichen substances in this lichen.



Dictyonema spp.

FOLK NAMES:
    Ne/ne/ndape/ [name sometimes applied to other fungi] (Waorani: Ecuador)

USES: Hallucinogen (Waorani: Ecuador)

    Davis and Yost (1983) reported on an interesting use of a lichen by the Waorani of the Amazon rainforest of eastern Ecuador.  The Waorani use the lichen ne/ne/ndape/ as a hallucinogen in shamanistic rituals.  In Waorani custom, an ido (shaman) takes hallucinogenic drugs in order to call on wenae (malevolent spirits) to curse someone else.  Only ido who cast this curse can lift it.  Two hallucinogens are used in this ritual, one made from the plant mii (Banisteriopsis muricata) and one from the previously mentioned lichen.
    To make the drug for casting curses, ne/ne/ndape/ is put into an infusion with various other bryophytes to make a drug called kigiwai.  Kigiwai causes headaches and extreme confusion when drank.  It was last used by someone to cast a curse around 1900. Ne/ne/ndape/ also is reported to cause sterility and may be put into a child’s drink to make her barren.
    This lichen is very striking, with a white hymenial layer and a bright green/blue upper surface, but it is extremely rare.  It is probably an undescribed species of Dictyonema.  A specimen was sent to Dr. Mason Hale of the Smithsonian Institute for identification.  As Dr. Hale has deceased, the current curator of the lichen collection at the Smithsonian Institute is checking to see if the specimen was ever identified.
    Dictyonema is a genus of lichenizing basidiomycetes.  This is unique, as most lichens are ascomycetes.  Dictyonema are fibrous to somewhat lobed fungi that associate with the cyanobacteria Scytonema (Brodo et al. 2001).



Diploschistes scruposus [“Crater lichen”; syn. Urceolaria scruposa]

USES:    Dye (England)

    Diploschistes scruposus was used in England to make a red-brown dye used on woolens (Uphof 1959).  Before it was used for dye it had to be treated with ammonia (probably urine).  The lichen was pulped with water and ammonia, and then left to ferment for 2 to 3 weeks.
    Diploschistes scruposus contains atranorin and lecanoric acid, and often contains diploschistesic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Evernia spp.

USES:    Medicine (Spain), Poison? (Achomawi)

NOTE:    When Evernia spp. is referred to in ethnographic literature it may also be including Letharia species.

    Evernia spp. is used to treat respitory ailments in folk medicine in Spain (Villar et al. 1990, cited in González-Tejero et al. 1995).
    Merriam (1967, cited in Mead 1972) records that Evernia spp. was used by the Achomawi as the principal ingredient for the poison for poison arrow tips.  However, I think that it is likely that the actual lichen was a species of Letharia.  The tips were embedded in masses of the wet lichen and left there, sometimes for up to a year.  Sometimes rattlesnake venom was added.



Evernia mesomorpha [“Boreal oak moss lichen”]

USES:    Cosmetics (Europe)

    Evernia mesomorpha is used in Europe to make perfume in the same way that Evernia prunastri and Pseudevernia furfuracea, but Evernia mesomorpha is not as popular (Uphof 1959).
Evernia mesomorpha contains divaricatic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Evernia prunastri [“Oak moss lichen”]

FOLK NAMES:
    Mousse Chêne or Eichenmoss (Europe)
    Pflaumenflechte (Germany)

USES:    Food (Turkey, Egypt, Arab, Copt), Alcohol (Europe), Medicine (Europe), Cosmetics
(Europe), Dye (Europe)

    Evernia prunastri was used in Turkey to make a jelly (Llano 1944b; Sharnoff 1997).  Evernia prunastri, along with Pseudevernia furfuracea, was used by ancient Egyptians to make bread (Perez-Llano 1944; Uphof 1959; Sharnoff 1997).  Uphof (1959) reported that the Egyptians were using it as a leavening agent for the bread, and that the use was being continued by Arabs and Copts.  According to Sharnoff (1997) this lichen was actually imported to Egypt for this purpose.  Perez-Llano (1944) also maintains that there was international trade in this lichen and states that in the 19th century Forstal saw several consignments of Evernia prunastri and Pseudevernia furfuracea  for Alexandria coming from the Islands of Archipelago.  In 1944 Perez-Llano reported that Evernia prunastri and Pseudevernia furfuracea were still being imported to Europe as a fermentative agent.
    Evernia prunastri, along with Pseudevernia furfuracea and Parmelia physodes, was the main ingredient in the “Lichen quercinus virdes”, a drug used in Europe in the 15th century (Senft 1911, cited in Perez-Llano 1944).  Lindley (1838) stated that Evernia prunastri was an astringent and febribuge, and recommended it for pulmonary affections.  The Pharmacopoeia Universalis of 1846 lists several medicinal uses for the lichen (Saklani and Upreti 1992).  And Uphof (1959) says that it is used as an old tonic for intestinal weakness.
    In 1838 Lindley recorded that Evernia prunastri had peculiar power of imbibing and retaining odors, and it was of “some request as an ingredient in sweet pots and ladies sachets”.  Today Evernia prunastri is an important ingredient in fine perfumes and has been harvested commercially in large quantities since the 16th century (Sharnoff 1997; Pojar and MacKinnon 1994).  The lichen is harvested in south-central Europe, mainly France, Czechoslovakia, and Herogovina and Piedmont (Italy) (Uphof 1959; Sharnoff 1997).  Volatile solvents are used to extract an essential oil oleo-resin from the lichen for use in perfumes (Uphof 1959).  Lichen is referred to as Mousse Chêne or Eichenmoss, and the lichens growing on oak branches are reported to contain the best oleoresin for perfume (Uphof 1959).  In Germany where the lichen is used for perfumery it is called Pflaumenflechte (Lange 1957).  Evernia prunastri is also used in soap making, as an impalpable powder, or in the form of a resin (Uphof 1959).  Evernia mesomorpha is also used in cosmetics to a lesser degree (Uphof 1959). Pseudevernia furfuracea is used in the cosmetics industry in France in the same way as Evernia prunastri, and is probably even more popular.
    Evernia prunastri was used to dye wool a violet colour (Uphof 1959). Before it was used for dye it had to be treated with ammonia (probably urine).  The lichen was pulped with water and ammonia, and then left to ferment for 2 to 3 weeks.
    Evernia prunastri contains evernic acid and some atranorin (Brodo et al. 2001).  It is worthwhile to note that although this lichen is widely harvested, it only grows about 2 millimeters a year (Stone and McCune 1990) and thus could easily be over harvested.



Evernia furfuracea [syn. Pseudevernia furfuracea]

SEE:    Pseudevernia furfuracea

NOTE:    Pseudevernia furfuracea does not grow in North America.  References to Evernia furfuracea in North American ethnographic literature are probably referring to Pseudevernia consocians and Pseudevernia intense.



Everniastrum cirrhata [syn. Parmelia cirrhata]

NOTE:    Everniastrum cirrhatum does not grow in North America.  Reports of this lichen in North America are misidentifications.

FOLK NAMES:
    Chharila [name also applied to Parmotrema chinense and Parmotrema perforatum]
       (India)

USES:    Food (Lepchas and Nepalis: India), Medicine (Mohemmadans, India), Dye (Peru)

    Everniastrum cirrhata is eaten by the Lepchas and Nepalis of Sakyong valley in North Sikkim, India (Saklani and Upreti 1992).  The lichen is boiled, and the liquid removed.  It is then fried and eaten as a vegetable.  Everniastrum cirrhata is routinely eaten like this during scarcity and famine.
    Everniastrum cirrhatum has been known to Mohemmadans for centuries, who used it as a carminative and aphrodisiac (Chandra and Singh 1971).  Everniastrum cirrhatum is also used medicinally in India as Chharila, along with Parmotrema chinense and Parmotrema perforatum.  SEE: Parmotrema chinense.
    Peruvian people use an infusion of Everniastrum cirrhata is used to produce a beige-yellow dye for traditional textiles (Mullins 1973, cited in Antúnez de Mayolo 1989)
    Chandra and Singh (1971) found Everniastrum cirrhatum to contain atranorin and protolichestric acid.  Saklani and Upreti (1992) found the lichen to contain these two compounds as well as salazinic acid.  Both tests were done on Indian populations of the lichen.



Flavocetraria cucullata [“Curled snow lichen”; syn. Cetraria cucullata]

FOLK NAMES:
    Ninguujuq [lit. “would like to be stretched”] (Yuqpik: Alaska)

USES:    Food (Yuqpik: Alaska)

    This lichen was used by the Yuqpik of southwest Alaska as a soup condiment, for fresh fish or duck soup.  But although it was eaten it was mainly known as caribou food.  (Wilson 1979; and Oswalt 1957).  Hawkes (1913) cited in Oswalt (1957) records eating this lichen.
    Flavocetraria cucullata contains usnic and protolichesterinic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Flavocetraria nivalis [“Crinkled snow lichen”; syn. Cetraria nivalis]

FOLK NAMES:
    Nagjjuujaq [name also applied to other unused yellow-green lichens such as Dactylina arctica]
        (Barrens-Keewatin Inuit)

USES:     Food (Europe, especially Scandinavia), Medicine (Europe), Dye (Europe)

    This lichen was recognized but not used by the Barrens-Keewatin Inuit (Wilson 1979).  It was used, especially in Europe, as a violet dye for wool (Uphof 1959).  Llano (1944b) states that this lichen was occasionally used as food by Scandinavians in a similar manner as Cetraria islandica, but it was not preferred. The Pharmacopoeia Universalis of 1846 lists folkloric medicinal uses for Flavocetraria nivalis (Saklani and Upreti 1992) and Lindley (1838) states that Flavocetraria nivalis has similar medicinal properties to Cetraria islandica.
    Poulsson (1906; cited in Perez-Llano 1944) made bread from both Cetraria islandica and Flavocetraria nivalis and tested them on humans.  The bread from Cetraria islandica was easily digested, but Flavocetraria nivalis caused such intestinal disturbances that the experiment had to be stopped.  Flavocetraria nivalis contains usnic acid in its cortex (Brodo et al. 2001).



Flavoparmelia caperata [“Common green shield lichen”; syn. Parmelia caperata,
Pseudoparmelia caperata]

USES:    Medicine (Tarahumar: Mexico), Dye (Isle of Man)

    The Tarahumar of Mexico have dried and crushed Flavoparmelia caperata and used the powder to treat burns (Brodo et al. 2001).  This lichen was used in the Isle of Man to dye woolens brown orange to lemon yellow (Uphof 1959).
    Flavoparmelia caperata contains usnic, protocetraric, and caperatic acids, and atranorin (Brodo et al. 2001).



Flavopunctelia soredica [“Speckled greenshield”; syn. Parmelia soredica, Parmelia
ulophyllodes, Parmelia manshurica, Punctelia soredica]

USES: Dye (Navajo: New Mexico)

    This lichen is used to produce a flesh-coloured dye by the Navajo of New Mexico (Sharnoff 1997).  
    Flavopunctelia soredica contains usnic and lecanoric acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Gyrophora cylindrica [syn. Umbilicaria cylindrica]

SEE: Umbilicaria cylindrica


Gyrophora dillenii [syn. Umbilicaria mammulata]

SEE: Umbilicaria mammulata


Gyrophora deusta [syn. Umbilicaria deusta]

SEE: Umbilicaria deusta


Gyrophora esculenta [syn. Umbilicaria esculenta]

SEE: Umbilicaria esculenta


Gyrophora muehlenbergii [syn. Umbilicaria muehlenbergii]

SEE: Umbilicaria muehlenbergii


Gyrophora proboscidea [syn. Umbilicaria proboscidea]

SEE: Umbilicaria proboscidea


Gyrophora velea [syn. Umbilicaria velea]

SEE: Umbilicaria velea


Haemotomma ventosum [syn. Ophioparma lapponica in North America]

SEE: Ophioparma lapponica



Heterodermia diademata [“Cupped fringe lichen”; syn. Anaptychia diademata]

FOLK NAMES:
    Dhungo ku seto jhau (Nepalis: India)

USES:    Medicine (Nepalis: India)

    The Nepalis of Chaunje Basti (in Sikkim, India) use this lichen as an external medicine (Saklani and Upreti 1992).  The thalli are mixed with the leaves of Banmara (Ageratina adenophora) and made into a paste that is used for cuts and injuries.  A cut is plastered with the paste to protect it from water and other infection.  
    Heterodermia diademata contains atranorin and zeorin (Saklani and Upreti 1992).



Hypogymnia physodes [“Monk’s hood lichen”; syn. Parmelia physodes]

USES:    Food (Potawatomi: Wisconsin), Medicine (Potawatomi: Wisconsin, Medieval Europe), Dye (Scotland, Scandinavia)

    Hypogymnia physodes was used by the Potawatomi (Wisconsin) in a soup (Smith 1933: pg 68; cited in Yarnell 1964).  The Potawatomi also ate this lichen as a cure for constipation (Brodo et al. 2001).  In 15th century Europe Hypogymnia physodes, Evernia prunastri, and Pseudevernia furfuracea, were the main ingredients in a widely known drug called Lichen quercinus virdes (Senft 1911, cited in Perez-Llano 1944).
    Hypogymnia physodes was used in Scotland and Scandinavia as brown dye for woolens (Uphof 1959; Brodo et al. 2001).
    This lichen is used in Europe as an important indicator of air quality because it can survive near cities but is damaged by sulfur dioxide (Brodo et al. 2001).  Hypogymnia physodes contains physodalic, protocetraric, physodic, and other acids (Brodo et al. 2001).  This lichen was also found to have some antibiotic properties (Burkholder et al. 1944).  A crude extract of Hypogymnia physodes inhibits the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis.



Lasallia spp. [“Toadskin lichen”]

FOLK NAMES:
    Gadna [name also applied to other Umbilicaria-like and Parmelia-like lichens growing on
       rocks and trees] (Saami: northern Scandinavia)

USES:    Food (Boreal North America), Animal forage (Saami: northern Scandinavia)

    Lasallia spp. were probably eaten in the same way as Umbilicaria spp.  These two lichen genera are related and look similar (Brodo et al. 2001).  SEE: Umbilicaria spp.
    Lasallia spp. and other Umbilicaria-like and Parmelia-like lichens growing on rocks and trees are called Gadna by the Saami of northern Scandinavia, and they recognize that these lichens are only eaten by reindeer when no other lichens are available.  SEE: Cladina spp. for more information on this.
    Lasallia spp. contain gyrophoric acid and anthraquinones (Brodo et al. 2001).



Lasallia pustulata [Umbilicaria pustulata]

USES:    Dye (Norway, Germany)

NOTE:    Probably does not occur in North America

    Lasallia pustulata was used in Norway and Germany as a source of red, purple, and brown dye for woolens (Uphof 1959).  Before it was used for dye it had to be treated with ammonia (probably urine).  The lichen was pulped with water and ammonia, and then left to ferment for 2 to 3 weeks.
This lichen is very common in Europe and has been reported in North America, but these reports are probably misidentifications because it is unlikely that Lasallia pustulata occurs in North America.          Lasallia species contain gyrophoric acid and anthraquinones (Brodo et al. 2001). Burkholder et al. (1944) reported that Lasallia pustulata was also found to have some antibiotic properties.  A crude extract of this lichen inhibits Staphylococcus aureus.  However, it is likely that all of Burkholder et al.’s lichen samples came from North America, so they were probably actually referring to another species of Lasallia.



Lecanora calcarea [syn. Aspicilia calcarea]

SEE: Aspicilia calcarea


Lecanora cinerea [syn. Aspicilia cinerea]

SEE:    Aspicilia cinerea


Lecanora parella [syn. Ochrolechia parella]

SEE:    Ochrolechia parella


Lecanora tartarea [syn. Ochrolechia tartarea]

SEE: Ochrolechia tartarea


Lepraria chlorina [syn. Chrysothrix chlorina]

SEE: Chrysothrix chlorina



Lepraria iolithus [“Dust lichen”]

USES: Dye (Scandinavia)

    Lepraria iolithus was used in Scandinavia to make a brown dye for woolens (Uphof 1959).
    Lepraria species contain a variety of compounds, including atranorin, stictic acid, and several fatty acids (Brodo et al. 2001).



Letharia vulpina [“Wolf lichen”; syn. Evernia vulpina]

NOTE:    Letharia vulpina can be hard to distinguish with the only other species in the genus, Letharia columbiana [syn. Letharia californica], which has a similar range.  For this reason any reference to Letharia vulpina in ethnographic literature can probably be considered to be referring to both Letharia vulpina and Letharia columbiana.

FOLK NAMES:
    Ol-gät’-I (Yuki: California, )
    He¯hyo¯wo¯’i˘sts [or He-ho-wa-ins’-tots; lit. “Yellow dye” or “Yellow root”] (Cheyenne)
    E-simatch-sis [lit. “Dye”; name also applied to other plants] (Blackfoot)
    Kware¯’uk (Okanagan)
    Kwerníkw (Okanagan-Coville)
    Kolomê’ka or Kwalä’uk (Thompson)
    Otsahaa (Gros Ventre)
    Mece’n (Yoruk)
    Manil maashaxaeme [lit. “Mountain moss”] (Karok)
    Ulf-mossa (Sweden)

USES:    Dye (Ktunaxa, Interior Salish, Okanagan-Colville, Oweekeno, Athapaskan, Tlingit, Nuxalk, Ulkatcho Carrie, and Coastal Salish: British Columbia; Flathead Salish: Montana; Blackfoot: Alberta; Karok, Yurok, Hupa, Modoc, Wintun, and Northern Paiute: California; Cheyenne, Gros Ventre, Sweden, Norway), Medicine (Yuki and Wailakis: California, Blackfoot: Alberta, Okanagan-Colville: British Columbia), Poison (Achomawi: California; Northern Europe), Charm (Apache), Fiber (Yuki)

    Letharia vulpina was the most widely used dye lichen for First Peoples in North America, from what is now the Yukon down the west coast and into Arizona (Sharnoff 1997).  It was invariably used for boiling water dyes (Brodo et al. 2001).  This is the simplest method of dye preparation and just involves boiling the lichen and then steep item in the solution.  The dye was used to colour basket materials, fur, moccasins, feathers, porcupine quills, wood, and in modern times cloth and horsehair for braided bridles (Turner 1998).
    Virtually all First People’s of interior British Columbia used Letharia vulpina.  Letharia vulpina was used by the Ktunaxa, the Salishan, and peoples Athapaskan peoples of Interior British Columbia, as well as the Flathead Salish of Montana (Turner 1998).  
    Some coastal groups used Letharia vulpina when available.  The Chilkat Tlingit traditionally dyed their prized dancing blankets and spruce root baskets with Letharia vulpina.  The lichen does not grow within their territory so they traded valuable coastal commodities such as fish grease to groups in the interior in exchange for the lichens (Sharnoff 1997; Turner 1998).  The Nuxalk obtained Letharia vulpina by trade from the Ulkatcho Carrie, and in turn distributed it to their coastal neighbors.  Coast Salish on the Vancouver Island and mainland used Letharia vulpina to make a yellow dye (Ravenhill 1938, cited in Turner and Bell 1971).  To make the dye Letharia vulpina was often mixed with Bryoria spp. (Turner 1998)
    The Okanagan-Colville called Letharia vulpina Kwerníkw.  It was boiled alone or with Oregon grape bark and the dye used for basket materials and fibers (Turner et al. 1980).  Teit (1928a) records that the Okanagan called Letharia vulpina Kware¯’uk and used it as a dye.
    The Blackfoot used Letharia vulpina as a yellow dye for porcupine quills and called it E-simatch-sis.  To make the dye the quills were placed in boiling water along with the lichen (McClintock 1910; Johnson 1970; Johnson 1982).
    The Cheyenne called Letharia vulpina He¯hyo¯wo¯’i˘sts [or He-ho-wa-ins’-tots according to Johnson 1982].  They boiled the lichen in water and steeped articles in the liquid to dye them a yellowish green (Grinnell 1905).
    Johnson (1982) records that the Gros Ventre dyed quills with a solution of Letharia vulpina and called the lichen Otsahaa.  And Compton (1993) records that the Oweekeno used Letharia vulpina to make a yellow dye.
    Baker (1981) records that the Karok and the Yurok of California used Letharia vulpina as a dye for porcupine quills.  Mead (1972) also reports on the use of Letharia vulpina by First People’s of California.  Mead cites Barrett (1910), Chesnut (1902), Goddard (1903), Merrill (1923), O’Neale (1932: pg 31), and Schenck and Gifford (1952: pg 377) for information on lichen use by California First People’s.  Letharia vulpina was used by the Hupa to dye the leaves of Xerophyllum tenex, or sometimes porcupine quills, a bright yellow colour.  The Modoc (Lutuami) used the lichen to dye porcupine quills yellow for basketry decoration.  The Yoruk called the lichen Mece’n and used the lichen as a general yellow dye.  The Modoc, Karok, Wintun, and Northern Paiute also used the lichen as a general dye.  The Karok called the lichen Manil maashaxaeme [mountain moss] and used it as a yellow dye for porcupine quills that were worked into the design of some basket caps, but didn’t use it for other baskets.
    Letharia vulpina was also used for dye in Europe.  The Swedes call Letharia vulpina Ulf-mossa and used it as a dye (Teit 1928b).  Uphof (1959) records that Letharia vulpina was used to dye woolens yellow in both Norway and Sweden.
    Besides using Letharia vulpina as a dye, the Nlaka’pamux and perhaps other groups used it as a paint as well.  They would dip lichen in water and apply to skin, or wet skin and apply the lichen dry (Turner 1998).  Teit (1928b) records the Thompson calling Letharia vulpina Kolomê’ka or Kwalä’uk and using it as a face paint in the same manner.  Teit (1928b) also records it being used to paint wood.  The Yuki of California didn’t use Letharia vulpina as a dye, but they called it Ol-gät’-i and made it into a thick decoction to use it as a paint (Chestnut 1902; Mead 1972).
    Letharia vulpina has also been used as a medicine.  It was considered very valuable by both the Yuki and Wailakis for drying up running sores and relieving the accompanying inflammation (Chestnut 1902; Mead 1972).  The Blackfoot used a decoction of the lichen for treating headaches (McClintock 1910; Johnson 1970; Johnson 1982).  The Blackfoot also used an infusion of the lichen and bone marrow for treating stomach disorders (Hellson and Gadd 1947).  And they blackened the lichen in a fire and rubbed on it a rash, exema, and wart sores (Hellson and Gadd 1947).  The Okanagan-Colville drank a weak decoction of Letharia vulpina for internal problems, and used a stronger decoction used to wash external sores and wounds (Teit 1928a; Turner et al. 1980; Sharnoff 1997; Brodo et al. 2001).
    Letharia vulpina contains vulpinic acid which is toxic.  Because of this the lichen has also been used as a poison. Its common name, “Wolf lichen”, reflects its traditional use in northern Europe as a poison for wolves (Sharnoff 1997).  In Sweden the lichen was powdered, mixed with ground glass, and then put in wolf bait to kill wolves (Teit 1928b).  Merriam (1967, cited in Mead 1972) records that Evernia spp. [referring to Letharia vulpina] was used by the Achomawi of California as the principal ingredient for the poison for poison arrow tips.  The tips were embedded in masses of the wet lichen and left there, sometimes for up to a year.  Sometimes rattlesnake venom was added to make the poison more potent.
    Letharia vulpina has a couple of other miscellaneous uses.  The Apache painted crosses on their feet with Letharia vulpina so they could pass their enemies unseen (Sharnoff 1997).  And Yuki used Letharia vulpina as bedding material (Chestnut 1902; Mead 1972).
    Letharia contain vulpinic acid, atranorin, and often norstictic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Leptogium spp. [“Jelly skin lichens”]

FOLK NAMES:
    Chharila [but name generally applied to Parmotrema chinense, Parmotrema perforatum,
       and Everniastrum cirrhatum] (India)

USES:    Medicine (India)

    Chharila is the name of a widely used lichen crude drug in India that is generally applied to Parmotrema chinense, Parmotrema perforatum, and Everniastrum cirrhatum.  However, analysis of Chharila by Chandra and Singh (1971) showed that over 50% of the drug was actually other lichens, one of which is Leptogium spp.  For information on Chharila SEE:  Parmotrema chinense.
    Leptogium species contain no lichen substances (Brodo et al. 2001).



Lichen cocciferus L. [syn. Cladonia coccifera (L.) Willd.]

SEE: Cladonia coccifera


Lichen fimbriatus L. [syn. Cladonia fimbriata (L.) Fr.]

SEE: Cladonia fimbriata


Lichen gracilis L. [syn. Cladonia gracilis (L.) Willd.]

SEE: Cladonia gracilis


Lichen pyxidatus L. [syn. Cladonia pyxidata (L.) Hoffm.]

SEE: Cladonia pyxidata


Lichen rangiferus L. (em. Ach.) [syn. Cladina rangiferina (L.) Nyl.]

SEE: Cladina rangiferina


Lichen vermicularis Sw. [syn. Thamnolia vermicularis (Sw.) Schaer.]

SEE: Thamnolia vermicularis



Lobaria amplissima (Scop.) Forssell (syn. Sticta amplissima?? Ask Goward, Lobaria laciniata)

FOLK NAMES:
    Jîngwakons wakun (Ojibwa)

USES:    Food (Ojibwa, Iroquois, Menomini)

    The Iroquois ate Sticta amplissima.  The lichen was cooked and reduced to a porridge (Parker 1910, cited in Arnason 1981).  
    The Ojibwa called the lichen Jîngwakons wakun and considered it to be a favorite old food (Smith 1932: pg 406; cited in Arnason 1981 and in Yarnell 1964).  They collected the Sticta amplissima found at the base of white pine trees and boiled it until it looked like scrambled eggs.  Stowe (1940; cited in Arnason et al. 1981) reports that the Ojibwa ate an unidentified lichen-moss, growing on white pine.  This lichen-moss was dried, boiled, and then used it in fish or meat broth.  Stowe was probably referring to Lobaria amplissima.  
    According Yarnell (1964) the Menomini also ate Sticta amplissima, using it in the same way as Sticta glomulerifera (SEE: Sticta glomulerifera).
    Lobaria species often contain b-orcinol depsidones or orcinol depsides (Brodo et al. 2001).




Lobaria oregana [“Lettuce lichen”, “Lettuce lung”; syn. Sticta oregana]

FOLK NAMES
    Sts’wakt-aak [name also applied to Lobaria pulmonaria and Sticta spp.] (Bella Coola)
    Nagaganaw [lit. “Frog’s dress”] or “Frog’s blanket” [translation] [these names may also
       have been applied to Lobaria oregana, and possibly Peltigera neopolydactyla or other
       Peltigera spp.] (Gitksan: British Columbia)

USES:    Medicine (Bella Coola?, Makah?, Gitksan), Ritual (Gitksan?)

    Lobaria oregana was named by the Bella Coola, but no use is recorded (Turner 1973).  However, Lobaria pulmonaria may have been referred to as Sticta spp. in ethnographic literature and so there may be reports of it being used as a medicine by both the Bella Coola and Makah (SEE: Sticta spp.).
    Lobaria oregana may have been used as a medicinally and in ritual by the Gitksan.  SEE: Lobaria pulmonaria for information on the use of Nagaganaw [lit. “Frog’s dress”] or “Frog’s blanket”.
    Lobaria oregana contains stictic, constictic, cryptostictic, and norstictic acids (Brodo et al. 2001).  It is a minor food source for the Columbia black-tailed deer on Vancouver Island, B. C. (Brodo et al. 2001).




Lobaria pulmonaria [“Lungwort”, “Lung lichen”; syn. Sticta pulmonaria, ??Sticta pulmonacea,
??Lobaria pulmonacea]

FOLK NAMES:
    Sts’wakt-aak [name also applied to Lobaria oregana, and Sticta spp.] (Bella Coola)
    “Frog’s blanket” [translation] or Nagaganaw [lit. “Frog’s dress”] [these names may also
       have been applied to Lobaria oregana, and possibly Peltigera neopolydactyla or other
       Peltigera spp.] (Gitksan: British Columbia)
    (Tl)’ac(tl)’astuphc’um (Hesquiat)
    Muscus pulmonarius (Europe)
    Lungenfletche (Germany)

USES:    Ritual (Gitksan), Medicine (Gitkisan, Hesquiat, Bella Coola?, Makah?, Europe, Spain), Alcohol (Siberia), Food (Siberia, Europe?, Vancouver Island Salish?), Cosmetics (Europe), Tanning (Europe), Dye (Great Britain, Scandinavia)

    According to L. M. J. Gottesfeld (1995 personal communication, cited in Sharnoff 1997) the Gitksan around Kitwanga, British Columbia associate Lobaria pulmonaria with frogs and use it in a spring bathing ritual to bring health and long life.  According to Gottesfeld the lichen’s Gitksan name translates as “frog blanket” and it was also used to treat arthritis 40 to 50 years ago.  However, Pojar and MacKinnon (1994) record that the Gitksan referred to Peltigera neopolydactyla and similar Peltigera species as Frog blanket.  The Gitksan may have referred to both lichens by the same name as they do look similar, but they have very different habitats (Peltigera grows on mosses, rocks, and the ground, and Lobaria grows up in trees).  Turner and Clifton (unpublished) report that Lobaria oregana (and perhaps Peltigera spp.) was called Nagaganaw [“Frog dress”] by the Gitkan and was boiled as medicine for sore throats.  According to one informant the lichen was picked off trees and mixed with juniper to make medicine (making Lobaria oregana a much more likely candidate than Peltigera spp.).
    Lobaria pulmonaria was called (Tl)’ac(tl)’astuphc’um by the Hesquiat, and they used it as a medicine for children with sunburned faces (Turner and Efrat 1982).
    In the Middle Ages in Europe, the ‘signature theory’ of medicine was popular, and because Lobaria pulmonaria looks sort of like a lung it was used to treat pulmonary illnesses (González-Tejero et al. 1995).  Lobaria pulmonaria was referred to as Muscus pulmonarius in European home remedies (Uphof 1959).  The Pharmacopoeia Universalis of 1846 listed several medicinal uses for Lobaria pulmonaria (Saklani and Upreti 1992).  It was regarded by some in Europe as an excitant, tonic, and astringent, and so was recommended as a cure for hemorrhages and asthma (Perez-Llano 1944). It has also been used to treat eczema of the head (Brodo et al. 2001). Lobaria pulmonaria is still used to treat respitory ailments in traditional medicine in Spain (Villar et al. 1990, cited in González-Tejero et al. 1995).
    Lobaria pulmonaria, Lobaria oregana, and Sticta spp. were all called Sts’wakt-aak by the Bella Coola (Turner 1973).  No particular use of Lobaria pulmonaria is recorded, although Lobaria pulmonaria may have been referred to as Sticta spp. in ethnographic literature and so there may be reports of it being used as a medicine by the Bella Coola, as well as by the Makah (SEE: Sticta spp.). Lobaria pulmonaria may have been eaten by the Vancouver Island Salish (Turner and Bell 1971).  Lindley (1838) reports that Sticta pulmonacea [probably a syn. for Lobaria pulmonaria] was eaten in a similar fashion to Cetraria islandica.  Lindley (1838) also records that this same lichen was used to treat pulmonary ailments, and was used in Siberia for giving bitter to beer.
    While Gmelin (Gmelin 1752: pg. 425; cited in Smith 1921) journeyed through Siberia he visited a monastery at Ussolka where monks were using Lobaria pulmonaria that was growing on pine trees in the area instead of hops in the brewing of beer.   Gmelin reported that the beer tasted exactly like beer made out of hops, but it was more intoxicating.  In these same monasteries a byproduct of Lobaria pulmonaria formed “a yellow, nearly insipid mucilage” and was eaten with salt (Llano 1944).  Brodo et al. (2001) records that this lichen was also used for brewing in India.
    In Europe Lobaria pulmonaria is used as a source of essential oil for perfumery (Uphof 1959).  In Germany this lichen was used for perfume and called Lungenfletche (Lange 1957).  The species of tree that the lichen is growing on has much influence on the quality of the oil (Uphof 1959).  Lobaria pulmonaria contains certain depsides that give it an astringent property and so it was used in tanning (Llano 1944a).  It was also used in Great Britain and Scandinavia as an orange-brown dye for woolens (Uphof 1959).  Uphof (1959) also records that Sticta pulmonacea [probably a syn. for Lobaria pulmonaria] was used by Herefordshire peasantry as a brown dye for stockings.
    Lobaria pulmonaria contains stictic and norstictic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).
 


Lobaria scrobiculata [“Textured lungwort”; syn. Sticta verrucosa]

FOLK NAMES:
    Qelquaq (Yup’ik: Alaska)

USES:    Food (Yup’ik: Alaska), Dye (Scotland, England)

    Yup'ik Inuit of Kwethluk, near Bethel, Alaska called Lobaria scrobiculata by the name Qelquaq and used it for food.  Qelquaq can be eaten plain, straight from the tree (Anna Jacobson 1995 personal communication, cited in Sharnoff 1997).
    Lobaria scrobiculata was used in Scotland and England to make a brown dye for woolens (Uphof 1959).
    Lobaria scrobiculata contains stictic, constictic, and norstictic acids, as well as scrobiculin and usnic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Melanelia acetabulum [syn. Lichen acetabulum, “Parmelia acebatulum”, Parmelia acetabulum]

NOTE:    This may not be a current name.  There is no record of this lichen in North America.

USES:    Dye (Northern Ireland)

    Melanelia  acebatulum was used in Northern Ireland as an orange-brown dye for homespuns and Harris Tweed (Uphof 1959.
    Melanelia species can contain various compounds, such as lecanoric, fumarprotocetraric, stictic, perlatolic acids, and rarely atranorin (Brodo et al. 2001).



Melanelia commixta [syn. Cetraria commixta, Cetraria fahlunensis]

USES: Dye (Europe)

    This lichen was used in different parts of Europe to dye woolens a red-brown colour (Uphof 1959).



Melanelia olivacea [“Spotted camouflage lichen”; syn. Parmelia olivacea]

USES:    Dye (Great Britain)

    Melanelia olivacea yields a brown dye for wool (Uphof 1959; Brodo et al. 2001) and it was used for this purpose in Great Britain (Uphof 1959).
    Melanelia olivacea contains fumarprotocetraric acid (Brodo et al. 2001).



Melanelia stygia [“Alpine camouflage lichen”; syn. Parmelia stygia]

USES:    Dye (Great Britain)

    Melanelia stygia yields a brown dye for wool (Uphof 1959; Brodo et al. 2001) and it was used for this purpose in Great Britain (Uphof 1959).
    Melanelia stygia contains fumarprotocetraric acid and sometimes caperatic acid (Brodo et al. 2001).





Lichens N-X and unidentified lichens

References

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