Lichens For Poisons
Only a few lichens are truly poisonous, with species of Letharia and Vulpicida being the primary examples. These lichens are yellow because they have high concentrations of the bright yellow toxin vulpinic acid.
Wolf lichen (Letharia vulpicida) was used in Scandinavia to poison wolves. The process begins by adding the lichens to various baits such as reindeer blood and other meats, while sometimes mixing the concoction with ground glass or strychnine. Wolves that ate the concoction were reported to succumb in less than 24 hours. The Achomawi people of northern California use Letharia to poison arrowheads. The arrowheads would be soaked in the lichens for a year sometimes with the addition of rattlesnake venom. Although toxic, wolf lichens were used to treat sores and inflammation by indigenous people in north California and southern British Columbia, and even taken internally as medicine.
Read more about this topic: Ethnolichenology
Famous quotes containing the words lichens and/or poisons:
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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