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beard lichens
Usnea
Usnea is a genus of fruticose lichens in the large family Parmeliaceae. The genus, which currently contains roughly 130 species, was established by Michel Adanson in 1763. Species in the genus grow like leafless mini-shrubs or tassels anchored on bark or twigs. Members of the genus are commonly called old man's beard, beard lichen, or beard moss. Usnea lichens are characterized by their shrubby growth form, elastic branches with a central cord, and distinctive soralia that produce vegetative propagules. They vary in colour from pale green to yellow-green, grey-green, reddish, or variegated, and range in size from a few millimetres in polluted areas to over three metres long in species like Usnea longissima.
Members of the genus are similar to those of the genus Alectoria. A distinguishing test is that the branches of Usnea are somewhat elastic, but the branches of Alectoria snap cleanly off. Usnea species are widely distributed across temperate and tropical regions worldwide, growing primarily on trees but occasionally on rocks, and are sensitive bioindicators of air quality, thriving only in unpolluted environments. The genus has a complex taxonomic history, with many species historically over-described due to environmental variations, though modern approaches using chemical, morphological, and molecular analyses have helped clarify relationships. Usnea lichens have been used traditionally for medicinal purposes, textile dyes, fire starters, and occasionally as emergency food, and serve important ecological roles including providing nesting material for birds.
60 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Usnea strigosa complex
complexUsnea strigosa
Bristly Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea hirta
Usnea
sectionUsnea
Usnea cornuta
complexUsnea cornuta
Methuselah's Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea longissima
Red Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea rubicunda
Arizona Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea intermedia
Usnea inermis
speciesUsnea inermis
Lapland Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea perplexans
Bony Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea trichodea
string-of-sausage lichen
speciesUsnea articulata
Usnea scabrida
speciesUsnea scabrida
Bloody Beard
speciesUsnea mutabilis
Warty Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea ceratina
eyed beard
speciesUsnea quasirigida
Straw Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea scabrata
Rock Beard
speciesUsnea amblyoclada
Blotchy Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea maculata
Wirth's Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea flavocardia
Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea subgracilis
Usnea antarctica
speciesUsnea antarctica
Pulvinate Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea pulvinata
beard lichen
speciesUsnea subscabrosa
Usnea dasaea
speciesUsnea dasaea
Fisherman's Dream
speciesUsnea angulata
Usnea cirrosa
speciesUsnea cirrosa
Usnea baileyi
speciesUsnea baileyi
Lustrous Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea glabrata
Old Mans Beard
speciesUsnea trichodeoides
Usnea fragilescens
speciesUsnea fragilescens
Usnea nidifica
speciesUsnea nidifica
Usnea aurantiaco-atra
speciesUsnea aurantiaco-atra
Usnea dimorpha
speciesUsnea dimorpha
Usnea contexta
speciesUsnea contexta
Usnea trachycarpa
speciesUsnea trachycarpa
Usnea esperantiana
speciesUsnea esperantiana
Zebra Beard Lichen
speciesUsnea sphacelata
Usnea ciliifera
speciesUsnea ciliifera
Usnea capillacea
speciesUsnea capillacea
Usnea molliuscula
speciesUsnea molliuscula
Usnea australis
speciesUsnea australis
Usnea ciliata
speciesUsnea ciliata
Usnea acromelana
speciesUsnea acromelana
Usnea subfusca
speciesUsnea subfusca
Usnea flammea
speciesUsnea flammea
Usnea subelegans
speciesUsnea subelegans
Usnea halei
speciesUsnea halei
Usnea subrubicunda
speciesUsnea subrubicunda
Usnea parvula
speciesUsnea parvula
Usnea durietzii
speciesUsnea durietzii
Usnea erinacea
speciesUsnea erinacea
Usnea oncodes
speciesUsnea oncodes
Usnea bornmuelleri
speciesUsnea bornmuelleri
Usnea chaetophora
speciesUsnea chaetophora
Usnea torulosa
speciesUsnea torulosa
Usnea merrillii
speciesUsnea merrillii
Usnea rubrotincta
speciesUsnea rubrotincta
Usnea lambii
speciesUsnea lambii
western beard lichen
speciesUsnea occidentalis
Usnea xanthopoga
speciesUsnea xanthopoga
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Latin Herbal with German Synonyms
1486 · p.312
Latin Herbal
1484 · p.311
Herbarius
1485 · p.312
Ortus sanitatis
1491 · p.486
Herbal of Virtues
1499 · p.311
Garden of Health
1507 · p.392
Herbarius latinus (with Dutch synonyms)
1486 · p.309
Latin Herbal
1491 · p.11
Herbarius latinus (with French synonyms)
1486 · p.313
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Usnea in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 67747.