(n) lichen with branched flattened partly erect thallus that grows in mountainous and Arctic regions; used as a medicine or food for humans and livestock; a source of glycerol, Syn. Iceland lichen, Cetraria islandica
(Bot.) A kind of lichen (Cetraria Icelandica) found from the Arctic regions to the North Temperate zone. It furnishes a nutritious jelly and other forms of food, and is used in pulmonary complaints as a demulcent. [ 1913 Webster ]