Old Man's Beard (Explored)
I photographed this Old Man's Beard lichen while hiking in a rainforest near the town of Sechelt, in the Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. Illumination oif the plant was through a ray of sunshine filtered by forest canopy.
Old Man's Beard Lichens (genus Usnea) are yellow or greenish bushy, branched lichens with long stems and disk-shaped holdfasts. They resemble tangled masses of threads.
This lichen is widely distributed, from the arctic to the tropics, and provides food for various wild animals. In the past, they were used as a remedy for whooping cough, catarrh, epilepsy, and dropsy, and they have been used also as an astringent, a tonic, and a diuretic. Some species of Usnea also produce an orange dye.
Beard lichens are sometimes confused with the plant known as Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides), which is similar in appearance but is unrelated to lichens.
Old Man's Beard Lichen is very sensitive to air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, and as consequence is considered to be an indicator of poor air quality.
Old Man's Beard (Explored)
I photographed this Old Man's Beard lichen while hiking in a rainforest near the town of Sechelt, in the Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. Illumination oif the plant was through a ray of sunshine filtered by forest canopy.
Old Man's Beard Lichens (genus Usnea) are yellow or greenish bushy, branched lichens with long stems and disk-shaped holdfasts. They resemble tangled masses of threads.
This lichen is widely distributed, from the arctic to the tropics, and provides food for various wild animals. In the past, they were used as a remedy for whooping cough, catarrh, epilepsy, and dropsy, and they have been used also as an astringent, a tonic, and a diuretic. Some species of Usnea also produce an orange dye.
Beard lichens are sometimes confused with the plant known as Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides), which is similar in appearance but is unrelated to lichens.
Old Man's Beard Lichen is very sensitive to air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, and as consequence is considered to be an indicator of poor air quality.