Reindeer moss - manna of heaven

The biblical legend says that when Moses led his people through the desert and all the food stocks were eaten, the exhausted people were ready to die of hunger. But suddenly the wind rose, and gray lumps fell on hot sand, which hungry people ate raw and from which they cooked porridge. And they thought that it was God who sent them the manna of heaven.
The Russian botanist Palpas proved that the gray lumps that fell from the sky to the heads of the suffering were lichens that occur in the deserts of Asia Minor and Africa. Gusts of wind roll across the desert, withstand a heat of 70 degrees. Completely dry, when rain falls again come to life.

Structure of lichen

On Earth, lichens appeared a hundred million years ago. For a long time, scientists could not determine whether it was a mushroom or seaweed. Until they came to the conclusion that lichen is a symbiosis of the fungus and algae. In its structure, deer moss resembles a tree in miniature: there is a "trunk" - a thallus, in all directions from which "branches" diverge - an interlacing of the fungus hypha and alga cells that protect the lichen from damage and drying out. There are peculiar "roots" - rhizoids, through which lichens attach themselves to stones and soil. The anatomical structure of lichens is:

• Homeome - algae scattered throughout the lichen;
• Heteromeric - algae are in the thallus and form a separate layer.

Reproduction and growth

Lichens can reproduce by spores that are produced by the fungus, or vegetatively: by slices of thallus. Are able to grow in the most severe conditions: in rocks, on stones, on poor soils, in sand. They are the first to develop unsuitable places for life and create conditions for other organisms. They grow very slowly: about 5 mm per year. The color range is varied: from black, white, gray, to bright yellow, orange and red. Until now, the mechanism for producing lichen color has not been clarified, it is obvious that it is associated with exposure to sunlight. At the slightest contamination of the atmosphere lichens perish, because, unlike plants, they do not have a protective cuticle, and poisonous substances penetrate through their entire surface.

Healing properties

Reindeer moss or central Iceland, or lichen - a lichen, which grows in the north of Russia. It has long been used by local residents to treat many diseases. Scientists have found that it contains such beneficial to the body substances as folic acid, gum, almost all vitamins, manganese, titanium, iron, iodine, nickel and others. The healing properties that he possesses are difficult to overestimate. The inhabitants of the North treat various diseases with yagel. To treat cough, stomach ulcers, problems with the intestines, reindeer moss is powdered and fried jelly. It also removes toxins from the body. Very effective deer moss with wounds, furuncles, ulcers. His broth is washed with wounds and make lotions three to four times a day. For treatment of emphysema, deer moss is boiled in milk. Widely apply it and in home cosmetology for the removal of pigment spots and blackheads. Reindeer moss serves as a raw material for delicious marmalade, jelly and kissel.