Lichens are mutualistic symbiotic combinations of fungal and algal or cyanobacterial cells. They are unique, and not in the plantae taxon.
They can most often be found on rock-type surfaces or woody plants, attached to the bark, branches, or twigs.
They come in many forms, ranging from flat to mossy to leafy or grassy.
They vary in colors, including inconspicuous gray, a blueish-green, yellow, and orange.
Indian names for lichens:
Cherokee: utsàlElá – “pot scrapings”; fruticose lichens (Blake 1953:2).
Navajo: tláat – “a covering”; any kind of lichen (Elmore 1944:17).
Navajo: tshétláat – “rock covering”; lichens growing on rocks (Elmore 1944:17).
Navajo: tshin pąahtláat – “tree covering”; lichens growing on trees (Elmore 1944:17).
Material
Various lichens were used as dyes by the Navajo (Elmore 1944:17). They were boiled with the material and sometimes treated with alkali to extract the color (Elmore 1944:17)
LIST OF USEFUL LICHENS:
Parmelia sp.
Umbilicaria mammulata / Smooth rock tripe
Usnea barbata / Old man’s beard
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