Title page

Map of lichen use2

Lichens as dye

Photos byS. Sharnoff

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Lichens as medicine

Peltigera canina• Cure for rabies

Lobaria pulmonaria• For lung ailments

Usnea longissima• Antibiotic Photos by

Stephen Sharnoff

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Sooke Papua New Guinea

Usnea sp.

Lichens as decoration

Photo by S. Sharnoff

Cladina stellaris

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Lichens in cosmetics

Evernia prunastri• Perfumes• Hair powder• Embalming mummies

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Lobaria scrobiculata• Eaten raw by Yup’ik

Lichens as food

Over 90 species of lichen traditionally eaten worldwide

Always cooked in specific ways

• Remove lichen acids• Render lichen digestible?

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Yoshohito Ohmura (Japan): tasty

Lobaria & seaweed soup

Cooking Lobaria pulmonaria

My recipe: Norstictic acid (bitter red dye) removed with baking soda

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Fuji saruogaseU. trichodeoides• Tastes good

Yokowa saruogaseUsnea diffracta• Tastes bad Chili con Usnea

Prepared by Mr. Sato (Japan)

Usnea sp.

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Photo by Stephen Sharnoff

Eaten in eastern and northern Canada:

Iwa-take (Umbilicaria esculenta)

• Delicacy in Japan ($100/lb)

• Deep fried, pickled, in soups, etc.

• Boiled several times, eaten in soup, or with fish roe

Also eaten by early European explorers:

Rock Tripe (Umbilicaria spp.)

• Minimal preparation and limited nutrition

Photos by Y. Ohmura

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• Was important food in Europe

• Soaked in ash water, boiled, rinsed, dried, ground, mixed with flour, then cooked

• Bread, pudding, desserts

Cetraria islandica


Sweden, 1868: • Pamphlet distributed to teach poor people to eat lichen

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Bryoria fremontii


Wa-kamwa (Tenino)/ho.póp/ (Nimi’ipuu)Teh-ra (Dakelh)Qa’l (Modoc)Whyelkine (Tsimshian?)Dehtsighu (Inland Dena’ina)Nakuraartum nuyii (Sugpiaq)

Alectoria jubata (out-dated name)Black moss (English layperson)Black tree lichen (ethnobotanists)Edible horsehair lichen (lichenologists)Wila (Secwepemc)/wí7e (Nlaka’pmx)A.wi’.a (Stl’atl’imc)Skwelíp (Okanagan)Sqwelíp (Halkomelem)Sáw"-t-m=qn (Spokane)Sä’tc’Etct (Schitsu’umsh)Caúmtemkan or st’telu (Flathead)Ä'ttla or emgo'tlna (Ktunaxa)Ik!u'nuc (Ila’xluit)Kw”u’nch (Sahaptin)

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Bryoria use map 1

Ranges of lichen speciesEdible lichen Bryoria fremontii

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Bryoria use map 2

Ranges of lichen speciesEdible lichen Bryoria fremontiiBoth edible and toxic lichen speciesToxic lichen Bryoria tortuosa

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Bryoria use map 3


Important foodUse by people

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Bryoria use map 4


Important foodMinor food

Use by people

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Bryoria use map 5


Important foodMinor foodUnconfirmed food

Use by people

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Bryoria use map 6

Important foodMinor foodUnconfirmed foodOther use

Use by people


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Photo by Nancy Turner

Miscellaneous uses of Bryoria

Photo by Subiyay

Photo by Dorothy Kennedy

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Photo by Dorothy Kennedy

Eating Bryoria fremontii

Avoiding bitter and toxic lichens 1. Collect from areas identified to have good lichen2. Thoroughly clean lichen (soak, rinse, beat, scrub)

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BC: Dakehl, Ktunaxa, Secwepemc, St’at’imc, Nlaka’pamux, Okanagan

Washington: Okanagan, Spokane

Idaho: Schitsu’umsh

Montana: Flathead

Oregon: Ila’xluit, Sahaptin

1. Dig a large pit2. Heat up rocks

in fire

Eating Bryoria fremontii

Pit cook procedure used in:

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3. Cover hot rocks with dirt

4. Insert stick into dirt

5. Cover dirt with wet vegetation

6. Add well cleaned lichen

7. Add layer of root vegetable (yellow avalanche lily, wild onion, camas)

Pit Cook Procedure

Eating Bryoria fremontii22

8. Cover lichen with wet vegetation

9. Cover with dirt

10. Pull out stick

11. Pour in water12. Cover hole13. Let sit for 12 h

to 3 days

Pit Cook Procedure

Eating Bryoria fremontii23

The final product

How are toxic/bitter Bryoria spp. avoided?

What nutritional value does the lichen have?

Two questions:

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B. pseudofuscescensTqwesimáka7Bitter lichen compounds

Bryoria fremontiiWilaEdible lichen

Bryoria tortuosaToxic vulpinic acid

Selecting edible lichen

Photo by S. SharnoffPhoto by S. Sharnoff Photo by S. Sharnoff

A variety of similar-looking species to avoid

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Fremontii - tortuosa continuum

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• Location• Tree species

Identifying the right lichen

Start by looking in the right place:

• Taste• Appearance

Bring samples to grandma, and she identifies by:

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A simple study on collecting Bryoria

• Bryoria spp. collected from 80 trees at 8 locations• Used likely collection sites within Secwepemc territory

• Bryoria species composition identified for each sample

• Some samples shown to Mary Thomas to determine suitability for eating

Different sites have characteristic Bryoria communities

Kruskal-Wallis test• Variation between sites greater than variation within sites

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The abundances of certain Bryoria morphotypes are correlated with each other

Principal Component Analysis

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Principal Component Analysis

Kendall’s W• Several concordant groups

Spearman test• B. implexae negatively correlated with B. fremontii

The abundances of certain Bryoria morphotypes are correlated with each other

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32

Dr. Mary Thomas

Light-coloured or yellowish lichen is not good for eating

Avoided:• B. implexae• Yellow B. tortuosa

Preferred:• Dark B. fremontii

Asking an expert

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Dr. Mary Thomas

Light-coloured or yellowish lichen is not good for eating

Avoided:• B. implexae = less B. fremontii• Yellow B. tortuosa = more brown B. tortuosa

Preferred:• Dark B. fremontii = more light B. fremontii

A simple way to select edible lichen!

Asking an expert

The nutritional value of Bryoria fremontii

Protein: 4–8%

Fat: Minimal

Vitamins: B9, B12, E, and choline in some lichens, but not Bryoria

Minerals: Ca and Fe in some lichens, but not Bryoria

Carbohydrate: 20-30%, but is it useful?

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Lichenin (Lichen starch)-(1-3)(1-4)-D-glucann = 60 to 70

Isolichenin (Lichen starch)-(1-3)(1-4)-D-glucann = 40 to 50

Amylose (Plant starch)-(1-4)-D-glucann = 250 to 5,000

Cellulose (Plant cell walls)-(1-4)-D-glucann = lots

Lichen and Plant Polysaccharides

Eating indigestible carbohydrates

Lichenin (in Bryoria)

Inulin (in camas)

Indigestible to humans

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HeatAcidityTime

Lichenin (in Bryoria)

Inulin (in camas)

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Digestible simple carbohydrates

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[ ]xt= s + · erf + erf + ( )r + d2·h·t0.5( )r - d

2·h·t0.5

r - s

2(e-a2 - e-b2)·2·h·t0.5

d·0.5

a =r - d

2ht0.5b =

r - d2ht0.5

erf = 2-0.50

e-2d

±1∓x2ht0.

5

=

t = timer = initial temperature of hot rocks = initial temperature of soild = distance from hot rockr = radius of hot rockh2 = thermal diffusivity

Variables

A theoretical model for heat flux in a pit cook

Important aspects of a pitcook39

Temperature: ???

Peacock’s pitcook• British Columbia, 1998• Good fit with the temperature model

20

40

60

80

100

0 10 20 30 40 50

Time (h)

Temperature (ºC)

FoodPredicted


Temperature: ???


20

40

60

80

100

0 10 20 30 40 50

Time (h)

Temperature (ºC)

FoodPredicted

Pagoulatos’ pitcook• Texas, 2005• Really hot rocks • Does not match model

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

0 12 24 36 48Time (h)

Temperature (ºC)

RocksFoodPredicted


Temperature: ???


20

40

60

80

100

0 10 20 30 40 50

Time (h)

Temperature (ºC)

FoodPredicted

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

0 12 24 36 48Time (h)

Temperature (ºC)

RocksFoodPredicted

Pagoulatos’ pitcook• Water maintains food at a stable thermal maximum

• Higher boiling point?


Temperature: Food maintained at 100ºC, then cools

Potential sources of acidity

Soil: As low as pH 5.0

Vegetation: Conifer 4.0, broad leaf 5.5

Root veggies: Usually 4.9–5.6

Fruit: As low as 3.0



Acidity: ???

Potential sources of acidity

Soil: As low as pH 5.0

Vegetation: Conifer 4.0, broad leaf 5.5

Root veggies: Usually 4.9–5.6

Fruit: As low as 3.0



Acidity: Probably above pH 4, possibly as low as 3


Acidity: Probably above pH 4, possibly as low as 3

Duration: Left for 12 h to 3 days, time at stable thermal maximum depends on rock temperature


Testing the effects of pit cookingReal vs. artificial

Faster and easier

• More replicates

More control• Higher consistency• Better to test specific factors

The real thing• More representative of reality?

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Pitcooking in the kitchen47

A pit cooking experiment

Black tree lichen Camas

Two kinds of food

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Time• 6 to 34 hours

A pit cooking experiment

Acidity• pH 7, 5, and 3

Black tree lichen Camas

Synergy• Cooked together or separate

Three different treatments

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0 10 20 30 40

Hours cooked

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 10 20 30 40

Hours cooked

Digestible sugar (mg/g)

when cooked separately

What happened to the food

• Glucose does not increase with cooking time or acidity

Glucose CamasLichen

• Not much glucose

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0 10 20 30 40

Hours cooked

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 10 20 30 40

Hours cooked


when cooked separately


• Glucose does not increase with cooking time or acidity• No fructose

GlucoseFructose

CamasLichen

• Not much glucose• Lots of fructose when cooked

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0

5

10

15

20

25

0 10 20 30 40

Hours cooked


0 10 20 30 40

Hours cooked


GlucoseFructoseCooked together

Camas

when cooked separately vs. togetherLichen

• Captures large amount of fructose from camas• Captures some glucose

• Perhaps retains more fructose

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Total sugar content

0 6 10 18 26 340 6 10 18 26 34

FructoseGlucose

Hours cooked

cooked separately

Lichen CamasCotton (around camas)

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Total sugar content

0 6 10 18 26 340 6 10 18 26 34

FructoseGlucose

Hours cooked

Lichen CamasCotton (around camas)

Cooked together

cooked separately vs. together

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Total sugar contentas calculated from best fit models

Sugar content when cooked separately

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Total sugar content

Sugar content when cooked together

as calculated from best fit models

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ConclusionsEthnolichenology

• Lichens have a variety of traditional uses• Food lichens are prepared in specific ways to make them non-toxic and nutritionally valuable

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ConclusionsTraditional knowledge of Bryoria

• Bryoria fremontii is an important food lichen• There is a lot of wisdom about the proper selection and preparation of this lichen

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ConclusionsSelecting edible Bryoria

• Identifying the appropriate morphotype for eating is essential• Colour-based ID can successfully differentiate edible lichen at the relevant scale

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Nutritional value of black tree lichen• Lichens not digestible even with processing

Conclusions60

Nutritional value of black tree lichen• Lichens not digestible even with processing• Black tree lichen could function as a nutrient enhancer in traditional pitcooks

Conclusions61

Dr. Nancy Turner and Dr. Mary Thomas for their knowledge and advice

Dr. Peter Constabel and his lab

Dr. Barbara Hawkins and her lab

Dr. Nancy Turner, Dorothy Kennedy, Stephen Sharnoff, and Yoshohito Ohmura for pictures

All of the elders who shared their knowledge

Acknowledgements

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