Wolf Moss at Lake Tahoe

by: Elizabeth Sedway, TahoeKidsGuide.com

With the recent rains at Lake Tahoe many plants, and in this case lichens, are more abundant at Lake Tahoe.

Wolf Moss, otherwise known as Letharia vulpina, grows on the trunks and branches of trees at Lake Tahoe. Wolf Moss is a fruticose lichen. The word fruticose means "shrubby". The Wolf Moss, as seen in the picture at the right, grows in shrubby formations. Very sensitive to air pollution, the Wolf Moss will not flourish in areas with poor air quality.

Historically, this moss was used for its poisonous properties. When used for this purpose, deer carcasses were stuffed with this moss. When wolves in the area ate the carcasses, the moss would poison and kill them. Native Americans would boil the moss and coat arrowheads, creating in poison arrowheads.

On the brighter side, the moss was also used by Native Americans to make yellow dye.

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