beard lichen

beard lichen

      any member of the genus Usnea, a yellow or greenish fruticose (bushy, branched) lichen with long stems and disk-shaped holdfasts, which resembles a tangled mass of threads. It occurs in both the Arctic and the tropics, where it is eaten by wild animals or collected as fodder. In the past it was used as a remedy for whooping cough, catarrh, epilepsy, and dropsy. It has been used also as an astringent, a tonic, and a diuretic. Old-man's-beard (U. barbata) was first described in 300 BC as a hair-growth stimulant. Hanging moss (U. longissima) looks like gray threads about 1.5 m (5 feet) long hanging from tree branches in humid, mountainous regions. Some species of Usnea also produce an orange dye. It is the “beard moss,” or “tree moss,” of the poets and Shakespeare's “idle moss.” It is sometimes confused with the plant known as Spanish moss, which is similar in appearance but is unrelated to lichens.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • beard lichen — noun greenish grey pendulous lichen growing on trees • Syn: ↑beard moss, ↑Usnea barbata • Hypernyms: ↑lichen • Member Holonyms: ↑Usnea, ↑genus Usnea * * * noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • fish-bone beard lichen — a lichen, Usnea fillipendula, with antibiotic properties, widely used since ancient times. Its fibrils have been likened to a fish bone appearance …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • fishbone beard lichen — a lichen, Usnea fillipendula, with antibiotic properties, widely used since ancient times. Its fibrils have been likened to a fish bone appearance …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • beard moss — noun greenish grey pendulous lichen growing on trees • Syn: ↑beard lichen, ↑Usnea barbata • Hypernyms: ↑lichen • Member Holonyms: ↑Usnea, ↑genus Usnea * * * noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • beard moss — noun Any of several lichens of the genus Usnea, that generally grow hanging from tree branches, resembling grey or greenish hair. Syn: beard lichen, old mans beard, treemoss …   Wiktionary

  • old-man's-beard — ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ noun 1. : any of several clematises: as a. : an American virgin s bower (Clematis virginiana) b. : a European traveler s joy (C. vitalba) 2. a …   Useful english dictionary

  • old-man's beard — «OHLD MANZ BIHRD», noun, or old man s beard. 1. = beard lichen. (Cf. ↑beard lichen) 2. = fringe tree. 3. British. a European clematis with fragrant, greenish white flowers …   Useful english dictionary

  • Old man's beard — may refer to the following species: Usnea, a type of lichen. Clematis aristata, an Australian climbing plant. Clematis vitalba, a climbing plant. Chionanthus virginicus, a tree, which is used like a medicinal plant and ornamental plant.… …   Wikipedia

  • old-man's beard — ōl(d) .manz n a greenish gray pendulous lichen of the genus Usnea (U. barbata) that grows on trees and is a source of usnic acid …   Medical dictionary

  • old man's beard — noun 1. dense festoons of greenish grey hairlike flexuous strands anchored to tree trunks and branches by sparse wiry roots; southeastern United States and West Indies to South America • Syn: ↑Spanish moss, ↑black moss, ↑long moss, ↑Tillandsia… …   Useful english dictionary

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