Ei Lan Tai (Ei Lan Tsai) - Ei Lan Tai

Japanese: エイランタイ(依蘭苔) - エイランタイ

A lichen that grows on the ground in high mountains from Hokkaido to Shikoku, and is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. It is dark chestnut-colored, stands upright on the ground, and branches into a tree-like shape, 3-6 cm tall. It usually grows in large numbers, and the base gradually decays and turns reddish brown, and the whole plant becomes detached from the substrate. It has scattered white dots (part of the surface layer is missing, exposing the white pith) on the surface. It contains a lot of starch and is edible. In Northern Europe, it is milled and sold commercially. The closely related Meadowsweet Lichen is very similar in appearance to this species, but the dots are only on the sides.

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

北海道〜四国の高山の地上に生ずる地衣類で，北半球に広く分布。全体が濃いくり色で，地上に直立し高さ３〜6cm，枝分れして樹状を呈する。ふつう多数群生し，基部が次第に腐朽して赤褐色に変色し，全体が基物から遊離する。白い点状の擬盃点（表層の一部が欠落して白い髄が露出したもの）を表面に散生する。デンプン質を多量に含み食用となる。北欧では製粉して商品とされる。近縁のマキバエイランタイは外形が本種とよく似るが，擬盃点は側面にだけ生ずる。

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