Medicinal Monday - Reindeer Moss

As December is the month of holiday cheer, we thought we would write a blog about Reindeer Moss also known as Cladonia rangiferina. Technically it is not a moss at all, it is a lichen. This lichen is good for plants in general because it breaks down rocks which forms the soil in which plants grow. It also retains nitrogen that is in the soil helping surrounding plants grow. In addition to the benefits this plant offers other plants, it also has medicinal benefits that were used by Native American communities, specifically the Ojibwe.

About Reindeer Moss

This lichen is often found in boreal pine forests or in low-alpine areas. It grows on humus or on soil that covers rocks. It is a fungus and unicellular algae in symbiosis that helps each plant survive. The many curved tubes of the fungus protect the algae enabling both of them to produce the sugars that they both live on. The lichen is made up of a thallus, the main body of the plant whose development can last up to 25 years! In the summer the plant dries up under the summer sun and can be crumbled between the fingers resulting in a green/grey powder. As the main body or podetium grows it enters a stable period of 100 years. Areas grazed by wildlife can take many years to recover. 

Medicinal Uses

The most common use of Reindeer Moss was to make tea from it and use it to treat diarrhea. It was also used as a laxative, cough suppressant, and to treat inflammation in the mouth. Tea was also made to treat loss of appetite. Specifically, the Ojibwe boiled the moss and used the water to wash a newborn baby, and the Dene of the Arctic used the acid found in this lichen to tan reindeer hides.

Did You Know...

This lichen is also known as reindeer cup lichen, deer moss, caribou moss, and grey reindeer lichen.

Reindeer lichen is an important source of food for caribou.

Reindeer moss is high in carbohydrates that supply wildlife that eats it with energy to keep them warm.

In the 1800s Sweden led the world in lichen alcohol production. Lichen brandy was popular and also used to make Akvavit.