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Cetraria (Icelandic moss): useful properties, methods of preparation, preparations. Iceland moss: medicinal properties and contraindications

Iceland moss is a unique medicinal plant that is closely related to lichens. The described species is distributed not only in temperate climate, you can meet it in Africa and Australia. Like other lichens, cetraria covers the ground, tree stumps.

In Russia, such a plant can also be found, it is valued by folk medicine and grows in ecologically clean areas.

A perennial leaf-shaped lichen, a variety of which is reindeer moss, is distinguished by an upright form of bushes. The blades are ribbon-shaped irregular shape, narrow and flat, their height is up to 10 cm. The leaves are greenish-brown, have reddish marks at the base, and their underside is covered with white spots. The edges of the leaves are wrapped up, which gives the plant unusual view. Icelandic moss reproduces by transferring any part of it, but this lichen grows slowly. With a lack of moisture, the plant becomes gray and breaks.

Parmelia is a relative of cetraria, a lichen that grows on tree branches. The described species is found in all regions of Russia, with the exception of steppe zone. You can find lichen thickets in the Caucasus and Crimea, where the plant covers the trees in an even layer. Bushes grow singly or in continuous clusters in pine forests, wastelands, alpine meadows.

Iceland moss is a unique medicinal plant that is closely related to lichens.

You cannot see Icelandic moss in places polluted with harmful emissions or near roads.

Terms and features of the collection of Icelandic cetraria

Plants are harvested in August and September; thallus is suitable for harvesting. It is necessary to stock up on moss in dry weather in order for it to be better preserved. The lichen must be torn off the soil and thoroughly cleaned of the remnants of the earth and needles, which is a difficult task.

The moss collected and cleaned of impurities is laid out in an even layer on a paper or fabric bedding, it is traditionally dried in the sun until the moisture has completely evaporated. For this purpose, it is allowed to use industrial dryers, ovens, provided that the temperature is set to low up to 45 ° C. Finished raw materials retain useful properties for 2 years, store dry moss in a tightly closed container, placed in a cool place.

Gallery: cetraria (25 photos)
























How to clean the cetrarium from impurities (video)

The use of Icelandic moss in medicine

Moss treatment has been familiar to people since time immemorial. Science knows the anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties of the plant, in diseases respiratory system preparations from cetraria have a softening effect, dilute sputum and remove it from the bronchi.

With the help of the described lichen, ailments such as tuberculosis, bronchitis, and pneumonia can be treated due to the active components of moss.

Medicines made from Icelandic moss are recommended to treat inflammation of the mouth, and they can also reduce hoarseness in bronchitis. Decoctions are prepared from dry raw materials to help treat diseases of the digestive system. They gently envelop the mucous membrane, heal stomach ulcers. Cetraria is also effective in diarrhea, as the astringent compounds help to establish a natural process.

Medicines made from Icelandic moss are recommended to treat inflammation of the mouth, and they can also reduce hoarseness in bronchitis

It is known that this plant can negatively affect pathogens and inhibit the process of their reproduction, which means that cetraria can be considered a natural antibiotic. This herb treats diseases caused by staphylococci, streptococci and other dangerous microbes. Moss compresses are used as an external agent., relieving rashes and acne, and the plant heals burns and abrasions.

Cetraria raises immunity, therefore, after serious illnesses, the use of the plant as a useful supplement is indicated. With oncological ailments, preparations from Icelandic moss inhibit the growth of pathological cells, fight free radicals and improve well-being.

Thus, the use of cetraria in medicine is fully justified and helps to cure many diseases.

Moss compresses are used as an external agent.

Icelandic moss tablets during pregnancy and lactation

Pregnant women are not prohibited from using products with the addition of Icelandic moss, however, specialist advice in this case will not be superfluous. This plant helps to eliminate sore throat, cough and other symptoms of a cold, it can be taken at any stage of pregnancy with the permission of the attending physician. Convenient shape the drug in tablets makes it easy to use, and the components that make up the cetraria help to cope with the signs of toxicosis.

During lactation, medicinal moss successfully replaces prohibited drugs for sore throats and other diseases of the upper respiratory tract, you can use this tool without fear in the absence of allergies.

How to apply Icelandic moss (video)

Iceland moss: chemical composition and medicinal properties

Cetraria is rich in various biological substances and elements, but excellent nutritional properties plants are due to the high content of carbohydrates in it. Chitin in the composition of lichen improves the peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as Icelandic moss is saturated with the following substances:

  • vitamins of groups B and C;
  • usnic acid;
  • sugars (glucose and galactose);
  • slime;
  • wax;
  • gum;
  • trace elements - iron, magnesium, iodine and others.

The most valuable components of cetraria are usnic and other organic acids, which exhibit powerful antimicrobial properties. For this plant is so valued by folk healers and is even used in the manufacture of pharmaceutical medicines. Vitamins and trace elements increase human immunity, help strengthen the body.

The most valuable components of cetraria are usnic and other organic acids, which exhibit powerful antimicrobial properties.

The mucus in the composition of the grass envelops the mucosa internal organs digestion, thereby relieving pain.

The benefits of cetraria are due to the following healing properties:

  • antibacterial;
  • immunostimulating;
  • anti-inflammatory;
  • healing.

The correct use of Icelandic moss helps to improve digestion, cleanse the body of harmful substances and get rid of chronic diseases. The main thing is to use the gift of nature correctly and take medicines from it as directed. Icelandic moss has no contraindications; only expired raw materials can harm health.

Iceland moss recipes

Plants for making home remedies can be purchased at a pharmacy or collected by yourself. Popularity among adherents healthy lifestyle hot lichen tea conquered life. To prepare it, you will need the following ingredients:

  • dry Icelandic moss (2 teaspoons);
  • boiling water (250 ml), honey to taste.

Popularity among adherents of a healthy lifestyle won hot lichen tea

This tea is drunk at least 3 times a day. A hot drink alleviates a person's condition with pneumonia, bronchitis and colds, you can combine this remedy with a comprehensive treatment of the disease.

Iceland moss (Icelandic cetraria), in Latin Cetraria islandica.

Perennial foliate-bush lichen, attached and growing on trees, stumps, soil with the help of rhizoids. It grows in open sandy places in pine forests, swamps, but always far from industrial pollution. The presence of Icelandic moss on trees or soil is an indicator of the cleanliness of the environment.

Iceland moss grows in pine forests, tundra and forest tundra. It is the food of reindeer.

Three centuries ago, cetraria won a place of honor among the foodstuffs in Iceland. Local population so accustomed to adding cetraria to bread that they preferred only flour products containing Icelandic moss.

In our time, the Icelandic cetraria is highly appreciated in traditional medicine, using jelly from the plant for the treatment of many diseases and including cetraria in herbal collections. AT official medicine the drug "Cetris" was developed from the lichen Cetraria Icelandic. The high ability of this drug to dissolve seals in the mammary glands when used for treatment mastopathy in women.

The chemical composition and medicinal properties of Icelandic moss

Thallus of the Icelandic cetraria contain biologically active substances of various groups: carbohydrates, sugars, lichen acids, trace elements - iron, copper, manganese, titanium, nickel, traces of molybdenum, etc.; vitamins - ascorbic and folic acids, vitamins A, B1, B2, B12, as well as proteins, fats, wax, gum and pigments.

Due to the content in the cetraria biologically active substances various pharmacological groups, the plant has found quite wide application in official and traditional medicine in the treatment of diseases: gastrointestinal tract, dystrophy, general exhaustion, respiratory and lung diseases, infectious diseases of the skin, burns and diaper rash, disorders of the thyroid gland, anemia.

Acting on the mucosa of the digestive tract in gastrointestinal diseases, cetraria mucus stabilizes the excretory function of the gastric glands in hyperacid gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome, pancreatitis, diarrhea, weakens vomiting in early toxicosis of pregnant women.

The antitussive, antiemetic, enveloping effect of cetraria preparations is due to the presence of polysaccharides. The mucous substances of cetraria act envelopingly on the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract, therefore they are used for bronchitis with a strong cough, bronchial asthma, whooping cough, pneumonia, tuberculosis, emphysema, and chronic bronchial catarrh. Iceland moss has the strongest cleansing action in smokers and especially helps those who quit smoking! Also, regular intake of moss infusions is recommended for employees. hazardous industries associated with the inhalation of toxic substances.

Lichen acids are of the greatest value in Icelandic cetraria. Among lichen acids practical use found usnic acid, as it has a strong antibacterial effect against staphylococci, streptococci, subtilis bacteria, mycobacteria. Studies have shown that the sodium salt of usnic acid has bacteriostatic properties even at a dilution of 1:2000000, kills tuberculosis bacteria at a higher concentration, and the mechanism of antibiotic influence is associated with the termination of oxidative phosphorylation in bacteria.

The presence of trace elements (Fe, Mn, Cu, Co, Mo, B, Cr, Ni, Ti, I) and vitamin B12 makes it possible to use cetraria thalli in endocrine diseases, especially in case of thyroid insufficiency (hypothyroidism). Trace elements of the Icelandic cetraria take part in redox reactions and are necessary for the processes of growth and hematopoiesis. Vitamin B12 plays important role in the treatment of pernicious anemia.

I would especially like to emphasize high efficiency Icelandic moss in the treatment prostatitis and hemorrhoids. Treatment of hemorrhoids, especially in its severe forms, with the help of Icelandic moss is evidence that the biologically active substances of lichen help strengthen blood vessels, and also have a hemostatic effect. This plant can also be used in other diseases associated with the vascular system, as well as in the treatment of internal bleeding.

Cetraria Icelandic is valuable immunomodulating agent. Icelandic moss polysaccharides have antihypotoxic properties, are interferon stimulants and adaptogens.

The presence of tannins in Icelandic cetraria allows it to be used as an astringent and bactericidal agent in inflammatory processes of the mucous membranes, with burns, and also as an astringent. in case of poisoning heavy metals and plant poisons. The big advantage of cetraria is the factno side effects or toxic effects. Moss infusions and jellies can be used by pregnant women, nursing mothers and children.

Water extracts from cetraria help to improve the absorption of food and restore strength after physical overload, serious illnesses and are used to treat malnourished patients with asthenia, dystrophy, and muscle weakness.

The use of Icelandic cetraria for treatment

Icelandic moss water infusion (basic recipe)

Brew 1 tablespoon of crushed moss thalli with 1 cup (200 ml) of boiling water. Leave for 30 minutes, strain. Take 1-2 cups of infusion throughout the day between meals.

A decoction of moss in milk

1 tablespoon of well-chopped raw materials brew 300 ml of hot milk. Boil over low heat or in a water bath for 5 minutes, leave for 30 minutes, strain. The resulting decoction is taken 100 ml 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals. A decoction of milk is recommended for cleansing the lungs, coughing, and various poisonings.

The course of treatment (infusion or decoction) depends on the complexity of the disease. You can take 3 months without a break, if necessary, after a month break, continue treatment.

External use of decoction of cetraria

For external use, a decoction of Icelandic moss is prepared only on water and filtered before use. With purulent wounds, microbial skin lesions, pustular rash, burns and boils, lotions and washings are made. The bandage is changed 3-4 times a day.

Moss jelly

They are used for general weakness of the body, including in the diet. To prepare jelly, 100 grams of Icelandic cetraria are poured with 1 liter of water, infused for 2-3 hours, 10 g of baking soda are added. The water is drained, the moss is again poured with 0.5 liters of boiling water and boiled for 30 minutes, then filtered through cheesecloth and cooled. Jelly is eaten 1 tablespoon 5-6 times a day long time until you feel better (the course is not limited in time). Such jellies are also recommended for dry cough, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, to improve appetite. In addition, cetraria mucus is used to reduce the local irritant effect of certain drugs.
Aqueous thick laxative extract

Icelandic moss belongs to the lower plants. Its body - the thallus - does not have vegetative organs and practically does not look like leafy plants.
The name Icelandic cetraria is of Latin origin, it comes from the word cetra, which means a leather round shield of Roman soldiers. The plant received this name due to the shape of the sporulation organs - apothecia.
The species definition indicates that for the first time people learned about the healing properties of the plant from the Icelanders.

Morphology and physiology of the plant

The thallus or thallus of cetraria has a bushy structure of whitish, greenish or Brown color, consisting of flat or tubular blades up to ten centimeters in height and up to four centimeters in width. Icelandic moss is covered with red spots in the lower part, and the edges of its blades have cilia. When thallus is treated with a 10% potassium hydroxide solution, it turns yellow.

Important! Mosses and lichens do not have roots, they are replaced by outgrowths of skin cells - rhizoids.

Cetraria, like any other lichen, is a product of symbiosis. Icelandic moss combines two organisms with completely opposite properties: a green alga that synthesizes in the process of photosynthesis organic matter, and a fungus that feeds on these substances and supplies the alga with water with mineral salts dissolved in it, which it itself absorbs from external environment. The lichen reproduces by spores that germinate, intertwine with threads and form a rudimentary thallus. A real lichen is formed from it only after contact with a certain type of algae. Perhaps asexual reproduction using groups of cells containing fungal filaments and algae cells. Cetraria grows mainly on sandy soils in light pine forests, in swamps among mosses. It is the most common lichen and is the main food for reindeer.

Healing properties

Icelandic moss is used by official pharmacology in food supplements - dietary supplements and in the form of herbal teas with sage, chamomile, thyme, elderberry, calendula. The medicinal properties of Icelandic moss and its widespread use in folk medicine are explained by its unique composition.

  • Cetraria contains about seventy percent of mucous substances, consisting of polysaccharides of lichenin and isolichenin - lichen starch. They are extracted using hot water and then cooled to form a gelatinous mass.
  • Lichen acids have strong antibacterial properties.
  • The plant also contains bitterness, protein substances, fats, wax, gum, enzymes, pigments, and so on.
  • This species is characterized by the accumulation of large amounts of zinc, tin, cadmium, lead and silicon.

ethnoscience

medical significance

AT old times the mountain peoples ate Icelandic moss in the form of a thick jelly with honey and survived in times of famine with the help of sheep's milk and moss boiled in it. This not only improves digestion, but also cleanses the blood, lymph, and has an anti-inflammatory effect. Inhabitants extreme north hot poultices from cetraria were used to quickly heal even lacerated and infected wounds. Icelandic moss for children served instead of diapers, and the Eskimos treated their babies with applications of steamed lichen. Cetraria contains mucous substances, due to which it has a pronounced enveloping effect. For diarrhea, intestinal atony, gastritis, stomach ulcers, colitis, chronic constipation, a decoction prepared from twenty grams of moss and a glass is recommended. boiled water. Take this decoction three tablespoons daily.

Important! The decoction, previously washed from bitterness, is a food antidiabetic agent.

Preparations of Icelandic moss have a therapeutic effect:

  • antimicrobial,
  • anti-inflammatory,
  • laxative,
  • wound healing,
  • choleretic.

Thick mucous decoction is used not only for the treatment of pathologies digestive system, but also for pulmonary tuberculosis, pneumonia, whooping cough, bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis and food allergies.

Attention! Lotions and washings with such a decoction are used to treat purulent wounds, pustular rash, burns, boils, chronic dermatosis, neurodermatitis.

Recipes

  1. The traditional recipe for preparing a decoction of moss is as follows: take five hundred milliliters of boiling water or hot milk and one tablespoon of crushed dry lichen, mix, boil in a water bath for five minutes, and then leave for thirty minutes and filter. So prepare a decoction for ingestion. For external use, it is prepared exclusively on water.
  2. Moss extract is obtained in this way: pour a liter cold water one hundred grams of crushed cetraria, insist for a day, filter, put in a water bath and evaporate to half of the original volume. Take three times a day for half an hour before meals. Moss extract is used as a laxative. The duration of treatment is two weeks.
  3. Icelandic moss tea is used for colds, bronchitis, pneumonia. This remedy was recognized by many peoples of Europe, in particular by the Yugoslav peasants. Brew it like this: put a teaspoon of lichen in a cup of boiling water, insist and drink like ordinary tea once a day, preferably at bedtime.
    The duration of treatment with such tea varies depending on the circumstances and the patient's well-being in each case and ranges from one to three months.
  4. A collection consisting of Icelandic moss, toad grass, lemon balm leaf and salep tubers is recommended for impotence. Pour a tablespoon of grass with a glass of boiling water, insist, wrapped, a couple of hours, filter and drink three glasses daily.
  5. For pneumonia or severe bronchitis, take a decoction prepared according to this recipe: put a spoonful of chopped moss in a glass of milk, cover the container with a non-metallic plate or saucer and simmer for thirty minutes over low heat. Take a hot decoction daily at bedtime. In case of pneumonia, crushed lichen is taken, mixed with pine buds and fragrant violet root. Then pour this mixture with a glass of cold water, leave for two hours, boil for five minutes and take a warm infusion.
  6. Pulmonary tuberculosis is treated with a decoction of cetraria. Twenty grams of Icelandic moss are brewed with a glass of boiling water, heated over low heat for ten minutes and drunk a whole glass six times a day.

Iceland moss has no contraindications and side effects, so it can be taken for quite a long time - for years, both for adults and children.

All materials on the website Priroda-Znaet.ru are presented for informational purposes only. Before using any means, consultation with a doctor is MANDATORY!

Inhabitants of the northern regions have widely used Icelandic moss for a long time. This unusual-looking lichen in the official classification is designated by the term "Icelandic cetraria", and indigenous people calls it reindeer moss, lopastyanka.

This representative of the meager flora of the European north has a truly unique properties. For example, the Eskimos and Lapps to this day add Icelandic moss as a spice to fish dishes. On its basis, beer is prepared and even used in baking bread. Due to its slimy consistency, cetraria has become an indispensable component for making jams and jelly. Lichen is the main type of food for deer. Therefore, it is harvested by farmers in Norway, Sweden and reindeer herders of the Russian Far North.

But the main advantage of Icelandic moss is a truly healing composition that allows it to be widely used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Special composition

The composition of this lichen has not yet been fully studied, because scientists and physicians continue to work in this direction. But the components that were used by the peoples living in the difficult conditions of the North to treat many diseases are easy to list. The thallus of Icelandic moss contains such valuable components:

  • proteins;
  • starch;
  • complex carbohydrates, including glucose and galactose;
  • bitterness;
  • fats;
  • enzymes;
  • minerals, including molybdenum, sodium, nickel;
  • gum;
  • vitamin groups - A, B;
  • acids;
  • mucus (it is the main component - up to 70%).

Iceland moss has long been used by the pharmaceutical industry to make various medicines that help treat a range of ailments.

In what pathologies is cetraria used for therapeutic purposes?

In the ancient treatises of the peoples of Scandinavia, there is a mention of the use of Icelandic moss for colds. From it, the indigenous people made a special infusion, which accelerated the healing of burns and wounds. The antibacterial properties of lichen were studied later - in the 20th century, then this moss began to be used to treat severe forms of tuberculosis. Today, the cetraria has been studied quite well. In addition to antiseptic and antibacterial qualities, it also has a number of excellent properties:
  • tonic;
  • anti-inflammatory;
  • laxative;
  • expectorant;
  • immunostimulating;
  • emollient;
  • choleretic;
  • enveloping effect.

Experts highly appreciate the quality of this representative flora and consider Iceland moss one of the most powerful natural antibiotics.

What diseases are treated with Iceland moss?

In the old days, cetraria was used as an antiemetic and expectorant. A thorough study of the composition and characteristics of each of its components helped to expand the list of pathologies in which drugs based on this lichen make the treatment as effective as possible.

  • Diseases of the respiratory tract and lungs - pleurisy, pneumonia, bronchitis, whooping cough.
  • Infectious diseases - tuberculosis.
  • Viral diseases - influenza, rhinovirus.
  • Skin diseases - acne, trophic ulcers, furunculosis.
  • Gastrointestinal disorders and diseases of the digestive system - gastritis, ulcers.
  • Icelandic moss is recommended to those who want to lose weight.

Traditional medicine offers effective recipes using lichen to restore the body's immune forces after exhaustion caused by serious illnesses and in the postoperative period. They treat problems of a sexual nature in the representatives of the stronger sex, and traditional healers recommend that women use lichen to combat mastopathy.

Recently, active research has been underway to establish the potential of Icelandic moss in the treatment of oncology and HIV infection.

Of course, the possibilities of Icelandic moss are impressive, but still, it is better to use it after consultation with your doctor.

Possible adverse reactions and contraindications

The use of any medicines should be treated with extreme caution, even if they have the most unique properties. This rule must always be remembered. After all, serious medicines are mainly prepared on the basis of natural ingredients. Therefore, treatment with Icelandic moss in any form must be approached very responsibly. And in order to minimize the risk of possible complications, it is better to visit a doctor before starting treatment. cases negative consequences after treatment with cetraria, few have been registered, but there are restrictions on the use of preparations based on it. Among the contraindications are the following conditions:

  • bronchial asthma in the acute stage;
  • fever when the thermometer is above 39;
  • ulcerative colitis;
  • exacerbated gastritis;
  • autoimmune pathologies;
  • spastic constipation;
  • increased intestinal tone;
  • cholecystitis, pancreatitis (in the acute stage).

You can not use this type of lichen for the treatment of infants (up to a year). For pregnant women and nursing mothers, the decision on the advisability of this type of treatment should be made only by a doctor.

Usually, treatment with Icelandic moss takes place without negative consequences. Only in rare cases, patients complain of a slight indigestion and a feeling of discomfort in the liver.

Good to know! Preparations based on cetraria are intended for integrated use. They are not suitable for monotherapy. This point must be taken into account when we are talking on the treatment of life-threatening conditions for the patient: oncological diseases, tuberculosis.

Pharmacy preparations

In Russian pharmacies and in the CIS countries, several types of medicines containing Irish moss are available for purchase.

  1. Cough syrups: "Gerbion" - a drug intended for the treatment of cough in children under one year old, as well as "Pectolvan" - for respiratory tract infections in older little patients (up to 12 years old).
  2. Isla-moos cough resorption sheets help patients of any age who have problems with the vocal cords, dryness in the throat, perspiration.
  3. Cream with a warming effect helps with bruises, joint pain, colds. In addition to Icelandic lichen, it contains bear fat, eucalyptus, and honey.
  4. Powder "Sodium Usninat" can also be found in the pharmacy chain. This is an excellent external remedy that helps in the treatment of burns and other open wound surfaces. Also available as an alcohol or oil solution.
  5. Many foreign cosmetic companies have mastered the production of gels, lotions and creams based on this lichen. In addition to the pharmacy chain, you can also buy Icelandic moss from herbalists and traditional healers.

Folk recipes

There are many homemade ways to prepare various dosage forms from this valuable natural product. But, like any other medicine, all self-made products based on cetraria must be taken in a strictly defined dosage. The multiplicity of receptions must also be maintained.

  1. Whooping cough tea. Moss and thyme ingredients. Both ingredients are taken in half a teaspoon, then the mixture is poured with boiling water (a glass), infused for about 5 minutes. After straining, let the child drink a full glass of tea in small sips. Healing tea can be drunk up to three times a day.
  2. Healing decoction for stomach ulcers. Mix the same parts of marshmallow root, cetraria, flaxseed. One and a half tablespoons of a table herbal mixture pour boiling water (0.5 l), put on a slow fire for 5-7 minutes. Strain the finished broth thoroughly. After medicinal composition cools down, it can be taken 70 ml before each meal for about half an hour.
  3. The extract from constipation is prepared in the following sequence: pour dry raw materials (100 g) with a liter of ordinary water and leave to infuse for a day. Then filter, cook in a water bath until the volume is reduced by half. Take three times before meals.
  4. An anti-allergic decoction can be quickly prepared if you take a full handful of dry lichen, first pour raw materials cold water and let it stand. After two hours, you can drain the water, and pour the herbal mass with 0.5 liters of boiling water. Boil the mixture for about 25 minutes over moderate heat. The broth is drunk on an empty stomach in half a glass.
  5. A versatile decoction suitable for any occasion and its preparation does not take much time. Dry raw materials in the amount of one tablespoon (tablespoon) are first poured with boiling water, put in a water bath for 5 minutes. Once the solution has cooled, it must be well filtered. You can drink up to 5 times a spoon at a time.

The collection, which will help to cope with chronic rhinitis, consists of equal parts (1 l. St.) of the components:

  • Iceland moss;
  • St. John's wort;
  • sophora japonica.

The listed agents are mixed, sage (2 tablespoons) is added to them, the mass is poured with boiling water, and then boiled for ½ hour. When the solution has cooled, it is filtered. Means for washing the sinuses is intended. It is better to perform the procedure at bedtime with a small syringe or a sterile syringe without a needle.

This is only a small part of the recipes known to the people, which, as in ancient times, help people forget about illnesses and restore strength. Icelandic moss is just one representative of the plant world, which has a lot of properties that are beneficial to human health. But only with reasonable use, he will be able to demonstrate its healing qualities. This must always be remembered.

Video: how to clean and grind Icelandic moss

Cetraria is often referred to as Iceland moss. However, in fact, it refers to lichens - an extensive group of living organisms that live almost everywhere and have adapted to the most Spartan conditions.

It is believed that the largest thickets of cetraria in Europe are concentrated in the Swiss Alps, at an altitude of 1500-2500 m above sea level, as well as in. There are specimens with especially large thalli. They can reach over 20 cm in height.

UNDER THE DISK OF MOSS

Icelandic Cetraria is a cosmopolitan lichen. The species is widely distributed throughout the planet. It can be seen on every continent except Antarctica. The most common habitats of cetraria are dry pine forests.

Here she settled in the lower, grassy layer, along with other fruticose lichens, such as cladonia, which look a bit like mosses. They form a solid whitish carpet that slightly crunches underfoot in dry weather.

And although fruticose lichens are not at all relatives of mosses, but only remotely resemble them in the shape of their thallus, even botanists call such forest communities white-moss pine forests. Cetraria is also found in heather thickets, where it forms small groups or grows in single specimens.

Like all lichens, cetraria is able to be content with a minimum of resources for growth, so it is found in the Northern Hemisphere up to arctic belt. In the rocky tundra, it rises to a height of 1500 m above sea level. Cetraria is one of the vegetation elements of sand dunes and open barren spaces. AT Southern Europe it can only be found high in the mountains. Usually this lichen settles directly on soils, including stony ones, less often on old stumps.

BAGS, SAUCERS AND TALLS

Icelandic cetraria is an upright leafy bushy lichen. It is distinguished by a rugged thallus with irregularly shaped ribbon-like lobes. In wet weather it is leathery, greenish-brown, in the dry period it is brittle, usually ash-gray. The lobes are flat, in some places grooved-folded, covered with short cilia. Their lower surface is often noticeably lighter than the upper. It is dotted with numerous white spots and ruptures in the bark, which serve to penetrate the air.

On the tops of some lobes, dark brown "saucers" with a slightly serrated edge, apothecia, are formed. These are fruiting bodies, they contain microscopic "bags" with spores. Under favorable conditions, cetraria, like other lichens, can reproduce in pieces of thallus.

BREAD AND PORRIDGE... WITH MOSS!

The first mentions of medicinal properties Icelandic moss can be found in European herbals of the 17th century. Today, cetraria in Europe is no longer in such great demand. Only in Iceland, folk medicines and some traditional local dishes are occasionally prepared from it. However, in the old days, this lichen was added to almost all culinary products: cereals, cottage cheese, soups, bread. The Icelanders even had a special recipe for making black pudding with cetraria. Since it contains a lot of starch, it was also used to make drinks like our jelly, but based on cocoa. Old recipes for lollipops and lozenges with cetraria have also been preserved. Icelanders consider them indispensable for diseases of the throat and damage to the oral mucosa.

In order to revive the former glory of cetraria, the Icelandic Moss company was established in 1993, collecting and packaging this raw material for export to the countries of the European mainland. Today, in health food stores, you can find bags with dried thalli of this lichen. On the reverse side is printed a recipe for traditional Icelandic bread.

PHARMACY UNDER THE FEET

Lichen acids (up to 5%), in particular usnic acid, were found in the thalli of the cetraria. They have pronounced antibiotic properties and are able to suppress the activity of streptococci, staphylococci and some other microorganisms. In addition to acids, cetraria found a large number of carbohydrates (up to 70%), the main part of which is the polysaccharide lichenin. Among other biologically active substances are a recently discovered special modification of chlorophyll, fumaric acids, cetrarin (a substance that gives the lichen a bitter taste), vitamins C and B12, and minerals.

In official Russian medicine, dried thalli of Icelandic moss are used for inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, diarrhea, atony of the stomach, and chronic constipation. In many European countries This lichen has traditionally been used to treat lung diseases, including tuberculosis, whooping cough, and asthma, as well as malnutrition.

Cetraria is able to become covered with a "tan": high in the mountains, where it is very bright sun, its thalli acquire a dark brown, almost black color. In the shade, on the contrary, they become almost white. The brown pigment serves the lichen as a kind of " sunscreen": it helps the cetraria to protect the cells of the thallus from destruction by ultraviolet radiation.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF

Kingdom: mushrooms.
Department: askomikota.
Class: lecanoromycetes.
Order: lecturers.
Family: parmeliaceae.
Genus: Cetraria.
Species: Icelandic cetraria.
Latin name: Cetraria islandica.
Size: up to 20 cm.
Life form: Bushy lichens.
Cetrari life span: over 100 years.

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