About:
A fruticose lichen with green shrubby structures that hang down from an attachment point, usually longer than 10 cm.
Habitat:
This lichen can be found on the bark of trees, and is known to inhabit both coasts of the United States, up into Canada. It has also been documented in Northern Europe, mostly in Scandanavia.
This lichen was also used by early settlers as wound dressings and as a "cure" for fevers (Hobbs, 1985).
History:
Usnea dasopoga was first described in literature in 1876.
Structure:
Attached to the bark of trees at the blackened base of the thallus and hangs down in long tendrils. These tendrils are usually covered in fibrils. The secondary metabolites common in this lichen are Usnic acid and Salazinic acid.
Fun Fact!
-The name Usnea filipendula and the species name dasypoga all refer to this lichen.
-It is known by some as the bushy beard lichen or the fish-bone lichen, although this terminology can be misleading because the name "bushy beard" can be applied to numerous types of lichen that resemble each other morphologically, but are each distinct and unique.
Reference List:
- Crampton, L. Lichens and People: Uses, Benefits, and Potential Dangers. Owlcation. 2020 Apr 20 [accessed 2020 May 4]. https://owlcation.com/stem/Lichens-and-People-Surprising-Interesting-and-Helpful-Uses
-Hobbs, C. (1985). Herbal antibiotic usnea lichen. Capitola, CA: Native Herb Co.
-Sharnoff, S. D. Lichens and People. [accessed 2020 May 4]. https://web.archive.org/web/20160520151609/http://www.lichen.com/people.html
-Silverside, A. J. Usnea dasopoga (filipendula) (images of British lichens). [accessed 2020 May 4]. http://www.lichens.lastdragon.org/Usnea_filipendula.html
-Usnea dasopoga. Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria. [accessed 2020 May 4]. https://lichenportal.org/cnalh/taxa/index.php?taxon=usnea+dasopoga&formsubmit=Search+Terms
-Usnea dasopoga. Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria. CNALH - Google Map. [accessed 2020 May 4]. https://lichenportal.org/cnalh/collections/map/googlemap.php?usethes=1&taxa=257426
-Usnea dasopoga. MycoBank. [accessed 2020 May 4]. http://www.mycobank.org/BioloMICS.aspx?TableKey=14682616000000061&Rec=56387&Fields=All