396 AJsNTJAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1960 



ing society that has resulted in the symbiotic relationship of man to 

 reindeer more or less throughout an area south to latitude 50° N. The 

 relatively smaller aboriginal populations of Arctic America have 

 found the rich coastal waters capable of supporting their hunting, 

 nomadic existence so satisfactory that even during recent times rein- 

 deer husbandry has had little appeal for them. The American Eskimo 

 lacks any tradition, according to present information, in the use of 

 lichens even as a starvation food. Present-day natives have been 

 observed collecting Cetraria richardsonii as tinder to fire wood in five 

 gallon cans. Wicks of the primitive stone seal-oil lamps were either 

 Sphagnum or Eriophorum tufts. In the hunting of the hoary marmot, 

 a commercially desirable fur mammal, the Eskimo hunter locates en- 

 trances to burrows along scree and talus slopes by seeking patches of 

 bright-yellow Xanthoria species. This lichen responds readily to the 

 presence of nitrogenous substances, and displays a more vigorous 

 growth in those spots where the marmot habitually evacuates close 

 to its burrow. 



The American Indian's knowledge of wild food plants included the 

 use of Alectoria jubata, though there are indications that some of the 

 more primitive Pacific coast tribes made greater use of these plants. 

 "Tripe de roche" or "rock tripe" was so named by the French "coureur 

 de bois" of boreal America who used it in periods of emergency. 

 Franklin recorded it in his diary as the main course of many a meal. 

 This "rock tripe" is one of the Umbilicariae and must be treated with 

 boiling water or at least soaked before being eaten. Franklin's use of 

 this lichen has been quoted many times, though the complete report 

 states that the species used caused severe illness. This was probably 

 the basis for the recommendation to personnel of the United States 

 Army Air Forces during the war for its use under emergency condi- 

 tions in Arctic areas. It may be noted that members of the Franklin 

 Expedition were also boiling and eating the leather of their equipment. 

 Under such starvation conditions any type of food or plant may be 

 used in an attempt to allay hunger. But mider a preplanned progi-am 

 designed to educate personnel with a minimum of out-of-door experi- 

 ence and no knowledge of plants suitable in such eventualities, a 

 greater emphasis on the more common vascular plants and of the 

 animals in these regions would have been more applicable toward the 

 preservation of life. Lichens are not easily recognized, and their 

 preparation with fire presumes the accessibility of fuel which may not 

 always be available. Future recommendations must be based on more 

 thorough research studies. 



Nutritional studies. — Scientific investigations regarding the diges- 

 tibility of lichens and the behavior of lichen substances in the body 

 have been too few, but the evidence at hand does not agree entirely with 

 the fact that these plants have been used extensively as foodstuffs. 



