Usnea Barbata
LATIN NAME: Usnea barbata
COMMON NAME: Old Man’s Beard
Old man’s beard is the grey, hanging beard of the old trees, and it is one of the quiet signs of the clean air. The tufted, fruticose lichen grows on the bark and the branches of the old trees, hanging in the soft, pale grey-green, branching strands, and it is one of the fine, slow presences of the old woodlands. The lichen has a very long record in the old practice of the cool regions, and it is a fine, quiet figure of the mossy woods. It is a lichen of the cool, moist, clean air.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Old man’s beard is a quiet, slow subject of the plant science, studied for the grey, branching strands and the way the lichen grows on the old bark. The chemistry of the lichen, which has a long record in the old practice of the cool regions, has been studied closely, and it keeps showing up in the work on the lichen ecology, the air-quality indicators and the members of the beard-lichen group. The tufted, hanging habit and the slow growth have also made it a fine subject of the lichen studies, and old man’s beard is a regular figure in the work on the clean-air lichens of the cool world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Old man’s beard is a quiet, grey figure of the old woodlands with a long list of uses. The soft, pale grey-green strands hang from the old bark and the branches, and the lichen is one of the fine, slow signs of the clean air, growing only where the air is good. The lichen has a very long record in the old practice of the cool regions, and it remains a steady figure of the traditional remedies and the natural dyes. It has been written up in the ecological and the herbal papers for the grey strands and the clean-air ways, and it is a fine, quiet presence of the cool, moist, old woodland.
Old man’s beard is one of the clean-air lichens of the cool woodlands, growing only where the air is good. The grey, branching strands have a very long record in the old practice and the natural dyes of the cool regions.
To grow the old man’s beard from seed, sow the tiny seeds and the powdery soredia over the surface of a tray of moist, sterile bark, keep the tray in a bright, airy, shaded spot and keep the bark evenly damp. The grey strands appear slowly and grow on very steadily. With the cool, moist air and the old bark, the grey beards will lengthen through the years.
Uses: Medicinal
