Reindeer Moss

Nestled among the rocks and low growing plants of the alpine and boreal regions of the continent, Reindeer Moss (Cladina rangiferina) peeks out through the greens and browns with its frosty white, bubbly-like mounds.

Upon closer inspection,

it's hardly bubble-like at all and is a silvery grey-green color!  Reindeer Moss is actually a lichen that can be found growing as far south as Florida, but abounds in the colder climates because it is exceptionally hardy and doesn't require much to sustain it's growth.  In some areas, it is considered rare and endangered.  Functioning in nature as a 'nitrogen fixer', it helps form new soil, stabilizes eroding soil, and helps form new habitat for other plants and animals.

Loaded with carbohydrates, vitamin A, and vitamin B, Reindeer Moss was thus named because it provides food and energy to reindeer and caribou during the harsh winter months, making up about 60 - 70% of their winter diet.  They can smell it through the snow!

Throughout history, Reindeer Moss has been used as a tea, to thicken soups and desserts,  and as a traditional medicine for treating kidney stones, as well as a forest fire indicator. 

Reindeer Moss easily absorbs toxic atmospheric pollution and some environmentalists fear this will result not only in the elimination of the species, but in sickening the deer, the caribou, and the people who consume their meat.  Therefore, it can and, more importantly, should be taken more seriously as a global indicator of environmental health.