Page 214 - The Forager’s Guide to Wild Foods

Poisonous Lichens

Poisonous Wila, Bryoria tortuosa (PARMELIACEAE)

The deadliest lookalike for Edible Wila, B. fremontii, is Bryoria tortuosa, which con-
tains highly poisonous vulpinic acids. B. tortuosa has tiny, yellow slit-like pores
(pseudocyphellae) on its surface, which are absent in edible Wila. B. tortuosa also
tends to have a yellowish or greenish color. Because of this, many people will only
harvest dark-hued edible Wila. However, both poisonous Wila and edible Wila can
display each other’s colors. What’s more, the 2 species sometimes grow intermixed.
Unless you are equipped with the necessary experience to distinguish the two, it’s
best to stay away from Wila. Millifolium, CC-BY-SA-3.0

Powdered Sunshine Lichen, Vulpicida pinastri (PARMELIACEAE)

Powdered Sunshine Lichen is bright yellow and leafy. It grows on the bark and wood
of various trees, often preferring slender branches and twigs. In North America, it
occurs most commonly in open mountain forests across boreal and subarctic regions.
PHYSICAL FEATURES: The short, leafy lobes overlap in many layers, often forming
rosettes. Averaging 0.08- 0.3 inches (0.2-0.6cm) wide, the lobes are loosely appressed
to loosely attached to the lichen’s substrate. Their edges are minutely round-toothed
to sharp-toothed. Both the upper and lower surfaces are sunny yellow to yellow-
ish-green, occasionally becoming greyish green in shaded habitats. The center of the
lichen’s underside is darker - usually brownish-yellow - and covered in whitish root-
like structures called rhizines.

Tumbleweed Lichen, Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa (PARMELIACEAE)

Tumbleweed Lichen, previously named Parmelia molliuscula, may have been the cul-
prit of 300 elk deaths in 2004. Distributed from the Rocky Mountains region to the
semi-desert areas of Mexico, this pale greenish lichen grows freely on soil. It often
becomes unattached and is blown about by the wind.
PHYSICAL FEATURES: This lichen’s tough leathery body grows free from the soil and
is separated into equally or irregularly branched lobes. Each lobe is nearly linear, with
an average length of 1.2-4 inches (3-10 cm) and width of 0.06-0.2 inches (0.2-0.5 cm).
The lobe edges are downturned and roll inward. The upper surface can range in color
from pale yellowish-green to whitish blue-green. The lower surface is pale to dark
brown, sometimes with whitish tips, and covered with tiny pale brown rootlike struc-
tures called rhizines. Matt Lavin, CC-BY-SA-2.0

Wolf Lichen, Letharia vulpina (PARMELIACEAE)
Wolf Lichen is recognizable by its fluorescent yellow-green habit. Distributed across
western North America, this shrubby, highly branched lichen grows on the bark and
wood of both living and dead conifers. Less frequently, it may develop on acidic rock.
PHYSICAL FEATURES: It grows upright to spreading, averaging 0.8-2 inches (2-5cm)
tall and 0.8-3 inches (2-8cm) wide. Its numerous, tangled branches may extend in
tufts or slightly droop like beards. They are flexible, crowded, and form right angles
towards the tips. Each branch is about 0.02-0.06 inches (0.05-0.15cm) wide. The li-
chen’s color ranges from bright lemon yellow to chartreuse, though normally it is
somewhere in between. Old branches may discolor to pale orange-yellow, yellow-
ish-brown, or greenish-grey.
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