CUP LICHEN

(genus Cladonia), widely distributed yellow, gray, or brown lichens usually found on the ground or on rocks in the north. The thallus varies in shape from simple and pointed to cup-shaped. One of the most commonly collected lichens, it contains a gummy or starchy material. When boiled with milk or syrup this material has been used as a remedy for whooping cough and chest ailments. The pyxie cup lichen (C. pyxidata) has small, funnel-shaped cups and grows about 2.5 centimetres high.