Lichens
CLADONIACEAE
Cladonia chlorophaea (Floerke ex Sommerfeldt) Sprengel,
in the broad sense
chalice-moss, cup-moss, Our Lady’s chalice
northern and southern temperate, alpine and polar regions
An old whooping-cough remedy, recommended in some of the herbals and
still in John Quincy’s day ‘mightily in vogue among the good wives’ though
largely ignored by official medicine,^19 Cladonia chlorophaea has continued
into more or less contemporary folk medicine in Britain in two Welsh coun-
ties (Merionethshire and Denbighshire) under the name cwpanau pas.^20
In Ireland, this lichen, boiled in new milk, has had the same role in
Wa t e r f o r d.^21
PARMELIACEAE
Parmelia Acharius
crotal
northern and southern temperate zones
Parmelia omphalodes (Linnaeus) Acharius, abundant in the upland and rock-
ier regions of the British Isles, is the species most commonly used for the
brown dyes colloquially known by their English spelling as ‘crottle’. Familiar
though that use is, lichens of this genus have also attracted some applications
in folk medicine as well. In the Highlands they were traditionally sprinkled on
stockings at the start of a journey to prevent the feet becoming inflamed.^22
The fiasgag nan creag,a name translating as ‘rock lichen’ but not further iden-
tified, was probably one of these; it was used for healing sores.^23
In Ireland it was as a cure for a bad sore under the chin that crotal found
one of its uses in Donegal,^24 where it has also been valued for burns and
cuts.^25 In Kerry, on the other hand,crotal has been one of several herbs put
into a carragheen-like (referring to Chondrus crispus or Mastocarpus stellatus)
soup given to invalids to drink.^26
Usnea Dillenius ex Adanson
beard lichen
northern and southern temperate zones
Usnea has traditionally had a reputation for curing diseases of the scalp,
allegedly for no better reason than that its appearance recalls a head of long
Bryophytes, Lichens, Algae and Fungi 41