Flowerless plants; ferns, mushrooms, mosses, lichens, and seaweeds

ICELAND MOSS
northern parts of the world. It covers the ground
where it grows, and is from one and one-half to four
inches high. It grows largest on the lava near the
western coast of Iceland. Many people go there during
the summer to collect it. It is said that a person can
gather four tons of it in a week. It takes three years
for new plants to grow
where the old ones have
been taken away.
The illustration on
this page shows you the
shape of this lichen. It
is tough and leathery,
but somewhat soft. It
has a very bitter taste.
Where it is used for food
the people chop it in
pieces and leave it in
limewater for several
days to remove this
bitterness. It is then
dried, powdered, and mixed with flour of the common
knotgrass, and made into cakes. These are eaten
with the milk of the reindeer. The poor people say,
"A bountiful Providence sends us bread out of the
very stones."
Iceland moss is used all over the world. In some
countries it is an article of diet for the sick. The doctor
125
Iceland Moss.