Wolf Lichen

"Wolf Lichen" (Letharia vulpina)

2007 September 17

2007 September 17

2007 September 17

Very common in our area, it was used by First Nation peoples mostly as a yellowish-green dye and even as a paint.

As the name Letharia suggests, this lichen is somewhat poisonous as it contains vulpinic acid. Interestingly, while some used it to make poison arrowheads, others made a weak tea out of it to treat internal problems, and stomach disorders!

Pixie Cup Lichens

Cladonia pyxidata

Any one with a lick of sense knows that these pixie cups were used by the pixies or wood fairies to sip their morning dew ... their elixir instead of coffee.

Joking aside, the Pixie Cup is a lichen that could be eaten if one were desperate and needed something to put in an empty stomach. It contains didymic acid and was once gathered to use as a treatment for tuberculosis. Eskimos apparently used Pixie cups as wicks in their blubber oil lamps. The lichens would be floated in the oil and then lit. The oil would burn off of the lichen and continually be replaced, allowing the lichen to remain as a useful wick for quite some time.

Cladonia borealis (??)

2007 October 2

2007 October 2

Felt Lichen

"Felt Lichen or Freckle Pelt" (Peltigera aphthosa)

Freckle pelt changes from a dull gray-green to bright green, when wet. The brown to black dots on the upper surface contain tiny colonies of cyanobacteria, which supply the lichen with nitrogen.

Felt Lichen is forage for mountain caribou during the winter.

In ages past, in Scandinavian countries, this lichen was boiled to make a wash for chapped skin on feet and for diaper rash.

Lichens Overview

A lichen is composed of algae and fungus working together in a symbiotic relationship, where both plants gain benefit and neither are harmed by the relationship. I found this interesting story that describes the symbiotic arrangement of lichens and their hosts in a very simplistic way:

"Once there was a young woman, Alice Algae by name, who lived in the woods. Her house was very run-down and she had no money to fix it up. One day a young gentleman, Freddy Fungus, came along. He was very handy with tools and offered to fix up Alice's house in exchange for some of her fine cooking. A simple agreement was made and Freddy repaired the house and Alice fed Freddy daily while he worked. After a short time they both realize that this was a very good arrangement in deed, and should last longer. So you see, Alice Algae and Freddy Fungus took a "lichen" to each other and lived happily ever after."

Most lichens, though not necessarily tasty, are edible, and a few contain toxic substances.

Lichens are dependent on high relative humidity as they take their moisture from the air rather than the underlying soil so you will notice that the lichens will be more visible after we've had some rain. In summer, when conditions are dry, they look like dry, shriveled things. They become highly flammable when dry.