LICHENS 



99 



dustrial value than dyer's moss or 

 dyer's fungus, which yields a dye 

 known as orchil, cudbear or litmus. 

 Orchil proper, a rich purple dye, is 

 obtained from Rocella tinctoria, a spe- 

 cies common in the Mediterranean 

 countries, Western Mexico, Central 

 America and in warm countries gener- 

 ally. The blue and the purple of the 

 Ol'd Testament (Ezekiel XXXII, 7) 

 is supposed to refer to the dye ob- 

 tained from this plant. It was also 

 used by the Greeks and Romans, and 

 was an important article of commerce. 

 Other lichens yield various dyes. Cud- 

 bear, from Lecanora, is much used by 

 the peasantry of Northern Europe for 

 dying woolen cloth scarlet or purple. 

 Many species yielding red, brown, pur- 

 ple and yellow dyes have been, and 

 probably still are used as domestic 

 dyes by the natives of the regions in 

 which they are found. The coloring 

 matter is in the acids contained in the 

 plants, but little is definitely known of 

 their chemistry. Another interesting 

 form is the beard moss found chiefly 

 on oaks. It hangs in beard-like tufts 

 from the branches, and varies in 

 length from several inches to several 

 feet. It serves as food for certain wild 

 animals, and also sometimes for do- 

 mestic animals. During the early mid- 

 dle ages this "moss" was much used as 

 a remedy for insanity, epilepsy and 

 other nervous disorders, but to be ef- 

 ficacious it should be gathered from the 

 skull of a criminal that had been left 

 hanging on the tree. 



Reindeer moss (Cladonia rangifer- 

 ina) is the chief food of the reindeer. 

 Even the Laplander in time of need 

 does not disdain to prepare it for his 

 own meal. Of all the lichens this is 

 doubtless the most useful. In winter 

 the animals scrape away the snow, 

 and feed upon this growth. 



In recent years, in Scandinavia and 

 Russia, alcohol has been distilled from 

 reindeer moss. Formerly another lichen, 

 Sticta pulmonaria (lungwort), was 

 much used instead of hops in brewing. 

 A certain Siberian monastery was cele- 

 brated for beer that owed its flavor to 

 this lichen. A small greyish or nearly 

 white lichen, known to botanists as 

 Lecanora esculenta, and called in West- 

 ern Asia "earth-bread," is believed by 

 some to have been the manna of the 

 Israelites. In times of drouth and 

 famine, it has served as food for man 



and beast on the arid plains of North- 

 ern Africa, Eastern Europe and West- 

 ern Asia. It grows unattached or very 

 lightly attached to the ground in the 

 form of irregular lumps, sometimes six 

 or seven inches thick. 



Iceland moss is still highly prized as 

 an article of diet, especially by conva- 

 lescents. The Swedish peasantry 

 make a bread of it and it often forms 

 the chief food of the poor Icelander. 

 A lichen commonly known as "rock 

 tripe" (Umbilicaria) has been used as 

 food by hunters and trappers of the 

 far North where these plants are abun- 

 dant on rocky ledges. It is stated that 

 the members of the Franklin polar ex- 

 pedition subsisted on this lichen for 

 some time. 



Peltigera canina formed the basis of 

 a one-time celebrated cure for hydro- 

 phobia. Ramalina reticulata is another 

 attractive lichen, known as "old man," 

 "old man's beard" and sometimes 

 "beard moss." It differs from the true 

 beard moss with which it is often con- 

 fused. The thallus branches are flat- 

 tened while those of the true beard 

 moss are cylindrical. It is abundant 

 on oaks along the California coast. 

 "Old man" is used for packing ma- 

 terial, bedding for cattle and as fodder. 



Lichens by an eminent botanist of 

 long ago were called "the beggarly 

 among plants." Like the poor they 

 are always with us. The number of 

 different kinds sometimes found on a 



OR APHIS SCRIPTA. 



