Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Fungi
Subregnum: Dikarya
Divisio: Ascomycota
Subdivisio: Pezizomycotina
Classis: Lecanoromycetes
Subclassis: Lecanoromycetidae
Ordo: Lecanorales
Familia: Parmeliaceae
Subfamilia: Parmelioideae
Genus: Usnea
Species: U. aciculifera – U. acromelana – U. aculeata – U. affinis – U. alboverrucata – U. alpina – U. amabilis – U. amblyoclada – U. ammannii – U. angulata – U. antarctica – U. aranea – U. arida – U. articulata – U. aurantiacoatra – U. australis – U. baileyi – U. barbata – U. bicolorata – U. bismolliuscula – U. brasiliensis – U. brattiae – U. californica – U. capillaris – U. catenulata – U. cavernosa – U. cedrosiana – U. ceratina – U. chaetophora – U. cirrosa – U. clerciana – U. condensata – U. confusa – U. cornuta – U. cristatula – U. crocata – U. dasaea – U. dasopoga – U. dasypoga – U. deformis – U. densirostra – U. diffracta – U. dimorpha – U. diplotypus – U. dorogawensis – U. durietzii – U. duriuscula – U. effusa – U. elata – U. elixii – U. endochrysea – U. entoviolata – U. erinacea – U. esperantiana – U. evansii – U. exigua – U. fastuosa – U. fibrillosa – U. filipendula – U. finkii – U. firma – U. flammea – U. flavocardia – U. florida – U. floriformis – U. foveata – U. fragilescens – U. freyi – U. fulvoreagens – U. furfurosula – U. fuscorubens – U. galapagona – U. glabrata – U. glabrescens – U. goniodes – U. graciosa – U. grandisora – U. hakonensis – U. halei – U. hesperina – U. hieronymii – U. himalayana – U. himantodes – U. hirta – U. horrida – U. hossei – U. inermis – U. intermedia – U. intumescens – U. jamaicensis – U. koyana – U. lapponica – U. leucosticta – U. longissima – U. lutii – U. maculata – U. madeirensis – U. malmei – U. mekista – U. merrillii – U. mexicana – U. michauxii – U. mirabilis – U. molliuscula – U. monstruosa – U. mutabilis – U. myrmaiacaina – U. nashii – U. nidifica – U. nidulans – U. nidulifera – U. nipparensis – U. occidentalis – U. oncodeoides – U. oncodes – U. orientalis – U. pachyclada – U. pacificana – U. pallidocarpa – U. pangiana – U. papillata – U. parvula – U. pectinata – U. pensylvanica – U. perplectata – U. perplexans – U. perpusilla – U. poliothrix – U. praetervisa – U. propagulifera – U. pulvinata – U. punctulata – U. pycnoclada – U. pygmoidea – U. quasirigida – U. ramillosa – U. ramulosissima – U. roseola – U. rubicunda – U. rubricornuta – U. rubriglabrata – U. rubrotincta – U. rugulosa – U. sanctaeritae – U. sanguinea – U. saxidilatata – U. scabiosa – U. scabrata – U. scabrida – U. schadenbergiana – U. scholanderi – U. shimadae – U. silesiaca – U. silvatica – U. sphacelata – U. spinulifera – U. steineri – U. strigosa – U. stuppea – U. subalpina – U. subaranea – U. subcapillaris – U. subcornuta – U. subdasaea – U. subeciliata – U. subelegans – U. subflaveola – U. subfloridana – U. subfusca – U. subglabrata – U. subgracilis – U. subhirta – U. subintumescens – U. subrubicunda – U. subscabrosa – U. substerilis – U. tamborensis – U. taylorii – U. torulosa – U. trachycarpa – U. transitoria – U. trichodea – U. trichodeoides – U. tristis – U. vainioi – U. variegata – U. vitrea – U. vrieseana – U. wasmuthii – U. wirthii – U. xanthopoga – U. yakushimensis
Name
Usnea Dill. ex Adans., 1763
Type species: Usnea florida (L.) F.H.Wigg.
Life habit: Lichenized.
References
Adanson, M.(1763) Familles des Plantes. - Paris.
Brodo, I.M., Sharnoff, S.D. and Sharnoff, S. (2001) Usnea (pp. 709-726) In, Lichens of North America. Yale University Press, New Haven, 795 pages.
Clerc, P. (1987) On the morphology of soralia in the genus Usnea, pp. 99-102 in Peveling, E. (ed.) Progress and Problems in Lichenology in the Eighties. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 25. (RLL List # 131 / Rec.# 3370 - Recent Literature on Lichens) (PDF file)
Clerc, P. (1987) Systematics of the Usnea fragilescens aggregate and its distribution in Scandinavia. Nordic Journal of Botany 7: 479–495. (RLL List # 132 / Rec.# 3371 - Recent Literature on Lichens) (PDF file)
Clerc, P. (1991) Usnea madeirensis Mot. (ascomycète lichénisé): une espèce méconnue de ľEurope et de ľAmérique du Nord. Candollea 46: 427–438. (RLL List # 150 / Rec.# 3373 - Recent Literature on Lichens) (PDF file)
Clerc, P. (1992) Some new or interesting species of the genus Usnea (lichenised Ascomycetes) in the British Isles. Candollea 47(2): 513–526. (RLL List # 150 / Rec.# 3375 - Recent Literature on Lichens) (PDF file)
Clerc, P. (1998) Species concepts in the genus Usnea (lichenized Ascomycetes). Lichenologist 30(4-5): 321–340. (RLL List # 172 / Rec.# 3384 - Recent Literature on Lichens) (PDF file) (DOI:10.1017/S0024282992000355)
Clerc, P. (2004) Notes to the genus Usnea Adanson. II, pp. 79-90 in Döbbeler, P. and Rambold, G. (eds.). Contributions to Lichenology. Festschrift in Honour of Hannes Hertel. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 88. (RLL List # 194 / Rec.# 25204 - Recent Literature on Lichens) http://nhm2.uio.no/botanisk/lav/RLL/PDF1/R25204.pdf (PDF file)]
Clerc, P. (2007) Usnea (pp. 302-335) In: Nash III, T.H., Gries, C., and Bungartz, F. (eds.), Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region, Vol. 3. Lichens Unlimited, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 567 pages. (RLL List # 210 / Rec.# 29910 - Recent Literature on Lichens) (PDF file)
Clerc, P. and Herrera-Campos, M.A. (1997) Saxicolous species of Usnea subgenus Usnea (Lichenized Ascomycetes) in North America. The Bryologist 100(3): 281–301. (RLL List # 168 / Rec.# 3361 - Recent Literature on Lichens) (PDF file) (JSTOR)
Dobson, F.S. (2000) (Fourth edition) Usnea (pp. 389-398) In, Lichens: An illustrated guide to the British and Irish species. The Richmond Publishing Co., Ltd., Slough, England, 431 pp. (Illustrations of branches of various Usnea species: p. 390, figs. 1-8)
Halonen, P. and Puolasmaa, A. (1995) The lichen genus Usnea in eastern Fennoscandia. I. Usnea hirta. Annales Botanici Fennici 32: 127–135. (RLL List # 163 / Rec.# 7549 - Recent Literature on Lichens)
Halonen, P., Clerc, P., Goward, T., Brodo, I.M. and Wulff, K. (1998) Synopsis of the genus Usnea (lichenized Ascomycetes) in British Columbia, Canada. The Bryologist 101(1): 36–60. (RLL List # 170 / Rec.# 7545 - Recent Literature on Lichens) (PDF file) (JSTOR)
Halonen, P., Myllys, L., Ahti, T. and Petrova, O.V. (1999) The lichen genus Usnea in East Fennoscandia. III. The shrubby species. Annales Botanici Fennici 36: 235–256. (RLL List # 179 / Rec.# 7548 - Recent Literature on Lichens) (Web site)
Herrera-Campos, M.A., Clerc, P. and Nash III, T.H. (1998) Pendulous species of Usnea from temperate forests in Mexico. The Bryologist 101(2): 303–329. (RLL List # 171 / Rec.# 8393 - Recent Literature on Lichens) (JSTOR)
Herrera-Campos, M.A., Nash III, T.H. and Zambrano Garcia, A. (2001) Preliminary study of the Usnea fragilescens aggregate in Mexico. The Bryologist 104(2): 235–259. (RLL List # 184 / Rec.# 22189 - Recent Literature on Lichens) (JSTOR)
James, P.W., Clerc, P. and Purvis, O.W. (1992) Usnea (pp. 620-629) In: Purvis, O.W., Coppins, B.J., Hawksworth, D.L., James, P.W. and Moore, D.M. (eds.) The Lichen Flora of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Natural History Museum Publication, 710 pp.
Motyka, J. (1936) Lichenum generis Usnea studium monographicum. Pars systematica, volumen primum. - Leopoli. iv, 304 pp. (Mattick Rec.# 28699 - Recent Literature on Lichens)
Motyka, J. (1938) Lichenum generis Usnea studium monographicum. Pars systematica, volumen secundum. Leopoli. 305-651 pp. (Mattick Rec.# 28700 - Recent Literature on Lichens)
Motyka, J. (1947) Lichenum generis Usnea studium monographicum. Pars generalis. Ann. Univ. Curieae Stud. Lublin C: I, 9: 277–476. (Mattick Rec.# 28701 - Recent Literature on Lichens)
Thomson, J.W. (1984) Usnea (pp. 461-470). In, American Arctic Lichens: 1. The Macrolichens. Columbia University Press, New York, 504 pages.
USDA NRCS PLANTS Profile USDA, NRCS. 2007. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 14 May 2007). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
Index Fungorum
MycoBank
Vernacular names
беларуская: Уснея
Deutsch: Bartflechten
English: Old Man's Beard, Beard Lichen, Treemoss, Oak moss
français: Usnée
日本語: サルオガセ属, ヒゲサルオガセ属
lietuvių: Kedenė
Nederlands: Baardmos
polski: Brodaczka
русский: Уснея
Türkçe: Sakal likeni
中文: 鬍鬚地衣
Usnea is a genus of mostly pale grayish-green fruticose lichens that grow like leafless mini-shrubs or tassels anchored on bark or twigs.[1]: 203 The genus is in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows all over the world. Members of the genus are commonly called old man's beard, or beard lichen.[1]: 203
Like other lichens it is a symbiosis of two or three fungi and an alga.[2] In Usnea, the fungus belongs to the division Ascomycota, while the alga is a member of the division Chlorophyta.
Members of the genus are similar to those of the genus Alectoria.[1]: 148 A distinguishing test is that the branches of Usnea are somewhat elastic, but the branches of Alectoria snap cleanly off.[1]: 148
Morphology and reproduction
As a fruticose lichen, Usnea appears as a shrub-like growth on host trees. Unlike other similar-looking fruticose lichens, species in this genus have an elastic chord or axis running through the middle of the thallus that can be revealed by gently pulling a filament apart from either end.[3] It reproduces via vegetative means through fragmentation, asexual means through soredia, or sexual means through ascogonium and spermatogonium.[4] The growth rate of lichens in nature is slow, but the growth rate has been sped up in laboratory conditions where Usnea is being cultured.[5] Usnea looks very similar to the plant Spanish moss, so much so that the latter's Latin name is derived from it (Tillandsia usneoides, the 'Usnea-like Tillandsia').
Taxonomy
Many species have been described. A three-volume series by Józef Motyka published in 1936 and 1947 distinguished 451 species.[6] Many of these are now regarded as morphological varieties and adaptations to local circumstances. The taxonomic categorization of many members of this genus remains uncertain. The number of recognized species in Finland is decreasing for this reason, from 34 in 1951 to 25 in 1963 and only 12 in 2000.[7] It is now noted as including more than 600 species and being one of the largest genera within the Parmeliaceae.[8] The species Usnea longissima was renamed Dolichousnea longissima in 2004.[9]
Ecology
Like other lichens, Usnea often grows on sick or dying trees due to the pre-existing loss of canopy leaves, allowing for greater photosynthesis by the lichen's algae; this leads some gardeners to mistakenly blame the lichen for the tree's leaf loss and illness.[10]
Usnea is very sensitive to air pollution, especially sulfur dioxide.[11] Under poor growing conditions, such as areas high in pollution, they may grow no larger than a few millimetres, if they survive at all. Where the air is unpolluted, they can grow to 10–20 cm long. It can sometimes be used as a bioindicator, because it tends to only grow in those regions where the air is clean,[12] and of high quality.
Uses
Medical claims
According to Paul Bergner, Author of Medical Herbalism. "The usnic acid in Usnea is effective against gram positive bacteria such as Streptococcus and Staphylococcus, making Usnea a valuable addition to herbal formulas for sore throats and skin infections. It is also effective against a bacterium that commonly causes pneumonia"[13]
There is reason to believe that Usnea, in high concentrations, could possess some toxicity.[14] The National Toxicology Program is currently evaluating the issue.[15]
Dyes
Usnea species have been used to create orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple dyes for textiles.[16][17]
Cosmetics
Usnea barbata has been used in cosmetic production for its antimicrobial and antifungal properties as a preservative and deodorant.[18]
Combustible
Usnea barbata when dry is extremely flammable and is often used as a firestarter.
Species
Data related to Usnea at Wikispecies
There are about 87 species of Usnea.[19]
List of Usnea species
Usnea arizonica
Usnea articulata[20]
Usnea australis
Usnea baileyi
Usnea californica
Usnea capillaris
Usnea catenulata
Usnea cavernosa
Usnea ceratina
Usnea ciliifera
Usnea cirrosa
Usnea condensata
Usnea confusa
Usnea cornuta
Usnea deformis
Usnea dimorpha
Usnea diplotypus
Usnea duriuscula
Usnea endochrysea
Usnea erinacea
Usnea evansii
Usnea fasciata
Usnea fibrillosa
Usnea filipendula
Usnea finkii
Usnea florida
Usnea fragilescens
Usnea freyi
Usnea fuegiana
Usnea fulvoreagens
Usnea furfurosula
Usnea glabrata
Usnea glabrescens
Usnea graciosa
Usnea hesperina
Usnea hirta
Usnea intermedia
Usnea kajalae
Usnea lapponica
Usnea lethariiformis
Usnea leucosticta
Usnea longissima
Usnea merrillii
Usnea michauxii
Usnea mirabilis
Usnea monstruosa
Usnea montana
Usnea mutabilis
Usnea occidentalis
Usnea pachyclada
Usnea pensylvanica
Usnea perplexans
Usnea prostrata
Usnea ramillosa
Usnea retifera
Usnea roseola
Usnea rubicunda
Usnea sacbiosa
Usnea scabrata
Usnea scholanderi
Usnea sphacelata
Usnea spinulifera
Usnea strigosa
Usnea stuppea
Usnea subclavata
Usnea subfloridana
Usnea subfusca
Usnea subhirta
Usnea sublaxa
Usnea subscabrosa
Usnea substerilis
Usnea sylvatica
Usnea taylorii[21]
Usnea trichodea
Usnea tristis
Usnea vainioi
Usnea variegata
Usnea variolosa
Usnea wirthii
Usnea xanthopoga
Gallery
Media related to Usnea at Wikimedia Commons
Usnea filipendula, Swabian-Franconian Forest, Germany
Usnea filipendula, Swabian-Franconian Forest, Germany
Usnea species, Bohemian Forest, Czech Republic
Usnea species, Bohemian Forest, Czech Republic
Usnea lapponica Vain.
Usnea species, Haba Snow Mountain, Yunnan, China
Usnea species, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. United States
References
Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-19500-2
Tuovinen; Ekman; Thor; Spribille; Johannesson. "Two Basidiomycete Fungi in the Cortex of Wolf Lichens". Current Biology.
Brodo, Irwin M.; Sylvia Duran Sharnoff; Stephen Sharnoff; Canadian Museum of Nature (2001). Lichens of North America. Yale University Press. pp. 709–710. ISBN 9780300082494. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
Marand, Sajan (5 January 2010). "Usnea". A Text Book of Botany: Vol. III. Calicut University. pp. 87–90. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
"Optimization of Culture Conditions for Lichen Usnea ghattensis G. Awasthi to Increase Biomass and Antioxidant Metabolite Production". Food Technol. Biotechnol. 47 (1): 7–12. 2009. ISSN 1330-9862.
Motyka, Józef. Lichenum generis usnea.
Halonen, Pekka (2000). Studies on the lichen genus Usnea in East Fennoscandia and Pasific North America (PDF). Oulu, Finland: Oulu University Library. p. 13. ISBN 9514255232. ISSN 0355-3191. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
Wirtz, Nora; Printzen, Christian; Sancho, Leopoldo G.; Lumbsch, Thorsten H. (1 May 2006). "The phylogeny and classification of Neuropogon and Usnea (Parmeliaceae, Ascomycota) revisited". Taxon. 55 (2): 367–376. doi:10.2307/25065584. ISSN 0040-0262. JSTOR 25065584.
Articus, Kristina (November 2004). "Neuropogon and the phylogeny of Usnea s.l. (Parmeliaceae, Lichenized Ascomycetes)" (PDF). Taxon. 53 (4): 925–934. doi:10.2307/4135560. ISSN 0040-0262. JSTOR 4135560. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
Brodo, Irwin M.; Sylvia Duran Sharnoff; Stephen Sharnoff; Canadian Museum of Nature (2001). Lichens of North America. Yale University Press. pp. 57–58. ISBN 9780300082494. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
Batty, Lesley C.; Hallberg, Kevin B., eds. (2010). Ecology of Industrial Pollution. Ecological Reviews. Cambridge University Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780521514460. Retrieved 4 December 2012. "Usnea spp., at one time widespread and luxuriant, almost entirely disappeared from a major area of England and Wales covering at least 68 000 km² and at least 6 000 km² of lowland Scotland, mainly as a result of the increase in atmospheric pollution."
"Usnea Lichens". www.lichens.net. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
http://medherb.com/Therapeutics/Immune_-_Lymphatics_and_antibiotics.htm
Jellin, JM; Gregory P.; Batz F.; Hitchens, K.; et al. (2000). "USNEA". Pharmacist's Letter/Prescriber's Letter Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (3rd ed.). Stockton, CA: Therapeutic Research Facility. pp. 1048–1049. ISBN 0967613647. "Adverse reactions are uncommon in appropriate amounts. Poisoning can be possible, although signs of poisoning have not yet been described."
"Testing Status: Usnea lichen 09063". Testing Status of Agents at NTP. National Toxicology Program. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
Bolton, Eileen M. (1991). Lichens for Vegetable Dying (2 ed.). Julia Bolton Holloway. p. 27. ISBN 9781566590013.
Casselman, Karen Diadick (2001). Lichen Dyes: The New Source Book. Courier Dover Publications. pp. 33–36. ISBN 9780486412313.
Ash, Michael; Irene Ash (2004). "Lichen (Usnea barbata) extract". Handbook of Preservatives. Synapse Info Resources. p. 437. ISBN 9781890595661. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
"PLANTS profile for Usnea (beard lichen)". USDA PLANTS. United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
"Lichens of Wales". Retrieved 3 December 2014.
Gadea, A., Le Pogam, P., Biver, G., Boustie, J., Le Lamer, A. C., Le Dévéhat, F., & Charrier, M. (2017). "Which Specialized Metabolites Does the Native Subantarctic Gastropod Notodiscus hookeri Extract from the Consumption of the Lichens Usnea taylorii and Pseudocyphellaria crocata?". Molecules 22(3): 425. doi:10.3390/molecules22030425
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