Iceland moss

Iceland moss
an edible lichen, Cetraria islandica, of arctic regions, containing a starchlike substance used in medicine.
[1795-1805]

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▪ lichen
      fruticose (branched, bushy) lichen with an upright thallus usually attached in one place. It varies in colour from deep brown to grayish white and may grow to a height of 7 cm (3 inches). The trough-shaped branches fork into flattened lobes that are edged with short hairs. Iceland moss grows in alpine areas of the Northern Hemisphere and on the lava slopes and plains of Iceland, whence it received its name. It is an important food for reindeer, caribou, musk-oxen, and moose. Iceland moss is also used as a food supplement for sheep and cattle and was probably the first lichen used as food by humans. It is soaked, dried, powdered, and mixed with cereals and potatoes for use in breads, soups, salads, and jellies. Slightly bitter-tasting, it contains about 70 percent lichenin, a lichen starch, and an extractable brown dye. Because Iceland moss is a source of glycerol, it is used in the soap industry and in the manufacture of cold creams.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Iceland moss — Scientific classification Kingdom: Fungi Division: Ascomyco …   Wikipedia

  • Iceland moss — Moss Moss (m[o^]s; 115), n. [OE. mos; akin to AS. me[ o]s, D. mos, G. moos, OHG. mos, mios, Icel. mosi, Dan. mos, Sw. mossa, Russ. mokh , L. muscus. Cf. {Muscoid}.] 1. (Bot.) A cryptogamous plant of a cellular structure, with distinct stem and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Iceland moss — Ice land moss (Bot.) A kind of lichen ({Cetraria Icelandica}) found from the Arctic regions to the North Temperate zone. It furnishes a nutritious jelly and other forms of food, and is used in pulmonary complaints as a demulcent. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Iceland moss — n. an arctic lichen (Cetraria islandica) sometimes used as a food and in folk medicine …   English World dictionary

  • Iceland moss — Ice·land moss .ī slən(d) mȯs, .ī .slan(d) n a lichen of the genus Cetraria (C. islandica) of mountainous and arctic regions sometimes used in medicine or as food * * * 1. Cetraria islandica, a lichen native to Iceland. 2. a preparation of the… …   Medical dictionary

  • Iceland moss — (also Iceland lichen) noun a brown branching lichen with stiff spines along the margins of the fronds, which can be boiled to produce an edible jelly. [Cetraria islandica.] …   English new terms dictionary

  • Iceland moss — Ice′land moss′ n. fng pln an edible lichen, Cetraria islandica, of arctic regions • Etymology: 1795–1805 …   From formal English to slang

  • Iceland moss — noun lichen with branched flattened partly erect thallus that grows in mountainous and Arctic regions; used as a medicine or food for humans and livestock; a source of glycerol • Syn: ↑Iceland lichen, ↑Cetraria islandica • Hypernyms: ↑lichen •… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Iceland moss — noun Date: 1805 a lichen (Cetraria islandica) of mountainous and arctic regions sometimes used in medicine or as food …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Iceland moss — /aɪslənd ˈmɒs/ (say uysluhnd mos) noun an edible lichen, Cetraria islandica, of arctic regions, used to some extent in medicine …  

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