Usnea spp (U. barbata, U. californica, U. longissima) aka Old Man's Beard

[Matthew Capowski]

This thread will be used to discuss usnea (U. barbata, U. californica, U. longissima).

This article on Usnea has a caution: http://www.herbalremediesinfo.com/usnea-herb.html

Recently, Usnea has been used in weight-loss preparations with ill effects. Ingesting high quantities of the herb resulted in liver damage, liver failure and cerebral edema.

As with most lichens, ingesting significant quantities comes with risk and is not recommended.

The source is however not cited.

 

[Matthew Capowski]

A chapter of a book on Usnea from ScienceDirect: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/usnea

 

[Matthew Capowski]

A photograph of usnea used with permission.