SafePlants

No images found for this plant ID: 9292.

Ensure images are uploaded to the Media Library and tagged with "9292" in the "plant_image_tag" taxonomy.

Safe for Children?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

Safe for Dogs?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

Safe for Cats?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

Safe for Reptiles?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

cetraria lichen

Scientific Name: Cetraria laevigata

Family: Parmeliaceae

Category: Lichen

Growth: Lichenous

Duration:

Other Names:

       

Iceland Moss (Cetraria islandica)

Cetraria islandica, commonly known as Iceland moss, is a lichen appreciated for its historical uses and unique characteristics.

Considerations for Pets

  • This lichen has a fruticose (branched, bushy) structure, which may be intriguing to pets.
  • The thallus, or body, of Cetraria islandica can vary from deep brown to grayish-white in color.

Considerations for Children

  • This lichen has a fruticose (branched, bushy) structure, which may be intriguing to children.
  • The thallus, or body, of Cetraria islandica can vary from deep brown to grayish-white in color.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

  • Scientific Name: Cetraria islandica (L.) Ach.
  • Common Names: Iceland moss, Iceland lichen
  • Family: Parmeliaceae
  • Group: Lichen
  • Synonyms: Lichen islandicus, Cetraria (Lichen islandicus)
  • Draft Community herbal monograph on Cetraria islandica (L.) Acharius s.l., thallus.

Distribution and Habitat

  • Primarily found at high latitudes.
  • Abundant throughout the arctic and mountainous regions of the northern countries.
  • Grows on sand or heath.
  • Found on mossy soil, such as in Portage Creek, near Anchorage, Alaska (Cetraria islandica subspecies crispiformis).
  • Circumpolar distribution.

Morphological Characteristics and Growth Habits

  • Fruticose (branched, bushy) lichen with an upright thallus.
  • Usually attached in one place.
  • Grows to 0.1 m (0ft 4in) in height and 0.5 m (1ft 8in) in width.
  • Slow growth rate.
  • Thallus color varies from deep brown to grayish-white.
  • Shows marginal projections and pseudocyphellae (small pores).

Traditional Uses

  • Used since ancient times as a cough remedy.
  • Used in European folk medicine as a cancer treatment.
  • Acts as both a demulcent and a bitter.
  • Used in herbal medicines for human use.

Interactions with Other Organisms

  • Associates with green algae as photobionts.
  • In vitro susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to protolichesterinic acid from the lichen Cetraria islandica.

Chemical Properties

  • Chemical investigation has led to the isolation of compounds identified as protolichesterinic acid and lichesterinic acid.
  • Has antioxidant activity.
  • Study of the desorption of 137Cs from the lichen Cetraria islandica was investigated.

Related Species

  • Cetraria aculeata, also a lichen within the Parmeliaceae family.
  • Cetraria muricata (Ach.) Eckfeldt (= Coelocaulon muricatum (Ach.) Laundon).
  • Cetraria ericetorum.

Further Information

  • Refer to Brodo, I.M., Sharnoff, S.D. and Sharnoff, S. (2001) Cetraria (pp. 213-219) In, Lichens of North America. Yale University Press, New Haven, 795.
  • http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/