Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa, known as the tumbleweed shield lichen[1] or ground lichen,[2] is a foliose lichen in the Parmeliaceae family. It is not fixed to a substrate, and blows around in the wind from location to location.[2]
This lichen is abundant on the High Plains of Wyoming.[3] Its distribution covers intermountain regions of western North America, and Mexico.[4]
Tumbleweed shield lichen is used as a dye by Navajo rug weavers.[2]
It has been used as a remedy for impetigo by the Navajo.[5]
It was implicated in the poisoning of domestic sheep and cattle in Wyoming during the 1930s.[3][6] It has also been implicated in the poisoning of elk in 2004.[6]
Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa, known as the tumbleweed shield lichen or ground lichen, is a foliose lichen in the Parmeliaceae family. It is not fixed to a substrate, and blows around in the wind from location to location.
