Even though here on the west coast many plants stay green– not entirely dying back, like Oregon Grape root, I still find the medicinal qualities to be quieter during this sleepy time of the year. That said, there is one such character that I will harvest all year round, dear Usnea (Usnea Barbata), also know as Old Man’s Beard, or Whisker Moss. For this reason I tend to save my harvesting of Usnea for these winter months, and particularly for after winter storms blow it to the ground.
In drier areas Usnea grows in small tufts, and in wetter coastal zones, such as where I harvest, it grows in tufts as well as in elegant strands that can be as long as a foot. In the wet of a coastal winter, these beautiful cobwebbed lichens keep their same rubbery flexibility and misty sea foam green colour, as in summer. And oh the smell! Particularly after a fresh rain, one can begin to smell Usnea in amongst the symphony of forest smells; a smell which is all it’s own– something like the smell of a bear’s thick wet fur. Usnea can be found growing on deciduous and coniferous trees alike, and it often attaches itself like a graceful adornment to elder trees that seem to be struggling. There are several types of lichens that look similar to Usnea, but one can always tell Usnea by gently pulling apart a tendril to find within a thin white cord.
Several weeks ago I had a dream of usnea; water droplets hung from its threads and illuminated light in a slow phosphorescent glow, and as I admired the tree and it’s adornments someone approached me and pointed out that Usnea only grows on the north side of trees and branches; the following week I discovered that the Dakota name for Usnea is Chan Wiziye, Spirit of the North Wind, for it indeed tends to grow on the north sides of trees– truly a medicine of the North, and of darkness and winter.
Usnea of course is not a plant, it is a lichen; a symbiotic relationship between alga and fungus; with the algae making food for the lichen through photosynthesis and the fungi providing protection for the algae and obtaining water and minerals for the lichen. More than this, the limits of it’s species are hard to differentiate, as there is such great flux. Perhaps it’s for these reasons that in deepening my relationship with Usnea, I haven’t found it to be as clearly a defined character as are many other plants I work with; for myself this makes Usnea all the more interesting. This sentiment is echoed by Stephen Buhner in his account of Usnea: “(as) I traveled more into the spiritual territory that usnea inhabits i found that, unlike pasque flower, osha, and angelica, usnea’s territory wasn’t as easy to understand. It is less familiar to my human sensibilities, the landmarks make less sense, it is more disorienting.”
For myself, Usnea brings up associations with wind and whisps of air; it’s sprit is light, almost translucent, and its energy lies in the in-between– that zone of communication and relationship. Not only does it cross the demarcation of species, but it’s home is in that porous zone between things, that wild place where subject and object are yet to be tamed into separate domains. In this sense, Usnea teaches us about the disorienting wilderness that is interconnectivity.
It has been suggested that Usnea serves as the lungs of the forest, providing antibacterial and anti-fungal filtration to the air for trees; and thus that using Usnea means coming in contact with the trees themselves. According to Stephen Buhner, for this reason Usnea is first used as medicine for the ecosystem, not for humans.
Usnea’s energy is cool and dry, and its main actions are to clear heat, move dampness, and resolve toxicity. Despite Usnea’s almost translucent energy and subtle taste (though many people dislike the taste, I quite like it), Usnea is one of the most powerful anti-fungal, antibacterial and antiviral herbs (lichens) I use. From the lungs to the urinary tract to the reproductive system, Usnea has an affinity for rebalancing bacteria and eradicating infection in the mucus membranes, particularly when accompanied with signs of heat. Such signs of heat may include darker discharge of the yellow or green variety. Usnea works on yeast infections as well as bacterial vaginosis, and particularly shines when it comes to the more complex and stubborn issues such as Strep, Staff infections, MRSA, Chlamydia, Herpes, Helicobacter Pylori, Tuberculosis and HPV; as well as other chronic conditions related to depressed immunity. This is all fascinating to me, considering the taste and energy of Usnea, which I find to be quite gentle, as compared to other hard hitting herbs, such as the far more bitter Bupleurum or Oregon Grape Root, which in large doses seem to kill or rip pathogens out of the body. Usnea on the other hand, seems to work more on the level of disruption in that subtle terrain of communication– disrupting the pathogen’s metabolism. Additionally, Usnea is gentle, if not soothing, to digestive system, this might be because it mainly effects gram positive bacteria, rather than the bacteria that make up a healthy gut flora. Because of Usnea’s gentle nature along with it’s serious capabilities, Usnea is useful in cases that were once acute but are on their way to becoming chronic.
Harvesting & Medicine Making:
Usnea grows very slowly and I’ve read that it can grow up to 2000 years old! For this reason, and because of the important role Usnea plays in our ecosystem, Usnea should only be harvested off the ground, after it falls from trees during wind storms.
To make a tea, I soak Usnea overnight in alcohol, and then decoct it (simmer), for 30 minutes.
Here’s how Steven Buhner recommends making an Usnea tincture.
Use a tincture ratio of 1:5. The liquid should be composed of half water and half pure grain alcohol. So if you have 5 ounces of herb, you will use 25 ounces of liquid – 12.5 of water, 12.5 of alcohol.
Put the powdered herb in the slow cooker, add the 12.5 ounces of water, and stir well. It will turn into a kind of mush. Cover and then cook on low heat for 48 hours. Let cool enough to work with it without burning yourself, then pour into a heat-tolerant jar (Mason or equivalent), add the alcohol when the mix is still warm but not hot, and then put on the lid and shake well. Let macerate for 2 weeks, then decant and strain out the herb. Bottle and store out of the light.
Tincture Dosage
The dosage of usnea will vary depending on the reason for use, person’s weight, sensitivity to herbs, etc. Ranges may be from 60 drops 3-4 times daily to 1 tsp up to six times daily.
Usnea also works well as a salve. First powder the herb well. Infuse the usnea powder into oil using the hot method. Once the oil is made it can be prepared into a standard salve. For increased anti-microbial capabilities consider adding oregon grape root and/or red cedar needles to the mix.
Usnea is commonly used for vaginal infections. It can be used as a douche by diluting the tincture in water.