fernandfungi:Two photos of rock tripe (Umbilicaria mammulata), also known as “rock guts” and “tripe

fernandfungi:Two photos of rock tripe (Umbilicaria mammulata), also known as “rock guts” and “tripe de roche”. It is a native lichen with a leaf-like shape and can be found growing on any exposed rock or boulders along the Canadian Shield near forested lake shores. Lichens are amazing complex organisms created by the natural symbiotic relationship of fungi and algae. When you find large rock tripes it means you are in a clean, healthy ecosystem.Rock tripe looks like leathery green-brown elephant ears when fresh but shrivels up and looks like grey-brown to black leaf litter when old and dried. The front side ranges from pale grey-brown to deep red-brown and the back is black. It is hard to tell how large each rock tripe “leaf” is from the first photo so I’ve included the second photo with my hand for scale. These are late winter / early spring rock tripes, so they were much bigger when fresh.Winter is taking its time leaving this year, it snowed yesterday and it’s snowing as I type. If we didn’t have the grocery store and the pantry was getting barren — we’d be looking for emergency survival foods. This rock tripe lichen is technically edible and can be treated like Chinese black fungus (Umbilicaria esculenta) to prepare it as food. Re-hydrate dried specimens and thinly slice into strips. You may want to marinate them or pickle them before eating to improve the flavour. In Chinese medicine the “rock mushroom” is considered a restorative and it could be a traditional spring ritual to eat it as a medicine rather than a survival food. Laboratory tests of Umbilicaria esculenta have revealed antiviral properties which back up its traditional uses in Asian cuisine and medicine. -- source link
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