Umbilicaria mammulata (Ach.) Tuck.

Smooth rock tripe, navel lichen

About plant names...

Smooth rock tripe forms large sheets (rarely, up to 24" (60 cm) across), like aged curling leather sheets, on cliffs and boulders.

Identification: The sheets are attached at only a single point (hence the genus Umbilicaria). They are reddish- or grayish-brown on top, and velvety black below. The top surface appears greenish when wet. The large size and coloration are unlike other lichens.

Edibility: An hour of boiling is said to convert this leather-like lichen into an edible source of protein, palatable by itself or when added to soup or stews. Soak for 2-3 hours first to remove acids that, while not dangerous, may send you running to the bathroom in a hurry. Even after all this soaking and boiling, you'd better be good and hungry—many say it still tastes like shoe leather.

Online References:

Macrolichens of North America

The Mushroom Observer

Stephen Sharnoff Photography

The Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria

Discover Life

Gigapan.com

References:

Peterson, Lee Allen, Peterson Field Guides: Edible Wild Plants of Eastern/Central North America, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977, p. 236

Walewski, Joe, Lichens of the North Woods, Kollath+Stensaas Publishing, 2007, p. 77

4/19/2021 · Center Pond Preserve, Phippsburg, Maine
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

9/26/2010 · Doane’s Falls, Royalston, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 3½" (12 × 8.7 cm) ID is uncertain

11/8/2009 · Yellow Trail from Pearl Hill State Park to Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 14 × 9" (35 × 23 cm)

4/21/2023 · Robert P. Tristram Coffin Wildflower Preserve, Woolwich, Maine

7/3/2012 · Yellow Trail from Pearl Hill State Park to Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 2½' (1.2 × 0.8 m)

5/25/2016 · Andres Art Institute, Big Bear M, Brookline, New Hamp­shire

11/8/2009 · Yellow Trail from Pearl Hill State Park to Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)

Umbilicaria mammulata description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 6 Dec 2020.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

7/3/2012 · Yellow Trail from Pearl Hill State Park to Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 6" (15 × 14 cm)

5/17/2021 · Bijhouwer Forest, Phippsburg, Maine
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

11/8/2009 · Yellow Trail from Pearl Hill State Park to Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 11" (18 × 27 cm)

9/20/2018 · Porcupine Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 10 × 6" (24 × 16 cm)

4/29/2016 · Andres Art Institute, Big Bear Mountain, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 26 × 17" (66 × 44 cm)

4/11/2021 · Robert P. Tristram Coffin Wild Flower Reservation, Woolwich, Maine
≈ 6 × 9" (15 × 23 cm)

4/21/2013 · Crow Hill Trail, Leominster State Forest, Leominster, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 9" (15 × 23 cm)

7/23/2023 · The Mountain Trails, The Mountain Preserve, Belgrade Lakes Village, Maine

4/11/2021 · Robert P. Tristram Coffin Wild Flower Reservation, Woolwich, Maine
≈ 10 × 6" (24 × 16 cm)

9/26/2010 · Doane’s Falls, Royalston, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm) ID is uncertain

9/9/2010 · Pine Meadow Conservation Trust Land, Groton Harvard Road, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 21 × 14" (52 × 34 cm) ID is uncertain

2/19/2012 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 4 × 6" (10 × 15 cm)

9/4/2023 · Thorne Head Preserve, Bath, Maine
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

4/21/2013 · Crow Hill Trail, Leominster State Forest, Leominster, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

2/19/2012 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 7.9 cm)

5/25/2016 · Andres Art Institute, Big Bear M, Brookline, New Hamp­shire

The green lichen is Umbilicaria mammulata. The gray warty stuff is Lasallia papulosa. They often occur together. · 7/23/2023 · The Mountain Trails, The Mountain Preserve, Belgrade Lakes Village, Maine

11/8/2009 · Yellow Trail from Pearl Hill State Park to Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)