Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Growing on a conifer in the hills north of Mount St. Helens, showing the leaf-like side-branches and pendent "stems", some of them several metres long. Dolichousnea longissima (syn. Usnea longissima), [2] [3] commonly known by the names old man's beard or Methuselah's beard lichen, is a fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.
Usnea is a genus of fruticose lichens in the large family Parmeliaceae. The genus, which currently contains roughly 130 species, was established by Michel Adanson in 1763. Species in the genus grow like leafless mini-shrubs or tassels anchored on bark or twigs. Members of the genus are commonly called old man's beard, beard lichen, or beard moss.
The lichen is sensitive to air pollution, and is often used as a biomonitor of sulphur dioxide. [3] Usnea hirta has an extensive worldwide distribution, and it is morphologically variable, which has led to numerous intraspecific taxa (i.e. subspecies , varieties , and forms ) being proposed in its taxonomic history.
Usnea florida is a species of beard lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum. German botanist Friedrich Heinrich Wiggers transferred it to the genus Usnea in 1780. It is considered a threatened or vulnerable species in several European countries. [2]
One of the most potent lichen antibiotics is usnic acid, as a result Usnea spp. are commonly used in traditional medicines. Usnea was used in the United States as a fungal remedy of the mouth, stomach, intestines, anus, vagina, nose, ear, and skin, and in Finland it was used to treat wounds, skin eruptions, and athlete's foot. [5]
Usnea sphacelata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), fruticose lichen in the large family Parmeliaceae. It is found in both polar regions of Earth , as well as in southern and northern South America and in New Zealand.
Usnea trichodea, commonly known as bony beard lichen, [1] is a pale straw-colored fruticose lichen with a pendant growth form. It grows on trees and is native to eastern North America. It grows on trees and is native to eastern North America.
Usnea pallidocarpa is characterised by its shrubby, erect appearance and a thallus (the body of the lichen) that typically measures between 5 and 7 cm in length. This lichen originates from a holdfast, which is the anchoring part of the lichen, appearing either unpigmented or with a brownish hue.