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This usnea tincture recipe is a breeze to whip up and offers support for overall wellness, including immune and urinary function.
What is Usnea?
I’m sure that you’ve probably seen this lichen many times as it grows in lacey bunches attached to trees all over the world. I see it often on my walks in Northeastern Connecticut, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized its medicinal worth.
After doing some research on how best to prepare usnea in order to get the most out of this wonderful specimen, I decided to share what I’ve learned.
Usnea is a greyish-green lichen with medicinal properties that grows on trees, rocks, and shrubs. It’s often referred to as Old Man’s Beard due to its resemblance to an old man’s beard.
A lichen is an organism that has characteristics of a Fungus and Algae. In Traditional Chinese Medicine Usnea Lichen is known for its “cooling and drying” energetic properties and its ability to “clear heat, move damp, and resolve toxicity”.
Usnea is antimicrobial, antibacterial, vulnerary, and antifungal.
What is Usnea Good For?
Usnea is a wonderful herb that provides support for the body in various ways. It can help maintain a balanced immune response in the respiratory tract and mucus membranes, as well as support the normal functions of the urinary system. Additionally, it aids in promoting a healthy microbial balance within the body.
What I find particularly remarkable about Usnea is its effectiveness as a local remedy for immune challenges. When you feel the onset of a cold or flu, turning to Usnea can offer valuable support. Its antibacterial properties work to disrupt the metabolic processes of bacteria, helping to prevent their reproduction and further illness. It’s truly impressive how nature provides such powerful allies for our well-being!
Where Do You Find Usnea?
Tree lichen can be found in many places and forests around the world. Usnea typically grows on pine, spruce, juniper, and fir trees along with oak, hickory, walnut, apple, and pear. If you have any of these trees around you, and the air quality is good, then chances are also good that you’ll find Usnea.
Identifying Usnea
The best and easiest way to identify Usnea is to hold a strand in your fingers and gently pull on both ends. The outer green sheath will pull apart, revealing a white inner core that will stretch before snapping. Usnea is elastic; other lichens aren’t.
Is Usnea Harmful to Trees?
When I first noticed usnea growing prolifically from trees in the forest near my home, I thought the lichen must be hurting the trees, but what I found out was much different. In fact, seeing usnea growing is an indication of air purity since usnea will not grow where there is pollution or poor air quality.
With that being said, it’s important to note that lichen is in no way harming your trees. However, lichen is rarely found on healthy, vigorous trees, so the presence of lichen may point to an unhealthy or dying tree (caused by other reasons, such as pests or disease).
How Do You Gather Usnea?
When foraging and harvesting Usnea for tincture, tea, or other preparations, it’s best to harvest from dead fallen branches and limbs and not from living trees because of the extremely slow-growing nature of this lichen.
Processing Usnea into Medicine
For home use, usnea is best used as a tincture. Making a tincture is very easy using the folk method, where exact amounts are not necessary.
When the tincture is finished, and the longer you leave it in the jar, the better, strain the liquid and decant into dark-colored dropper bottles. Keep the tincture in a dark, cool place. This has a shelf life of about a year.
How to Use Your Tincture
This Usnea tincture recipe is not recommended as preventative medicine, but rather as a medicine to be used when illness has already begun. Take a dropper full every four hours at the onset of a cough or cold. It is thought that Usnea stops bacteria from multiplying and thus shortening the duration and severity of the illness.
If you don’t like the taste, go ahead and add it to some hot tea or juice, or add it to a spoonful of honey.
Usnea has no known side effects but may be harmful in large doses. Don’t use excessively or over long periods of time.
Below are the steps necessary for preparing a dual-extract usnea tincture recipe.This usnea
Dual- extract Usnea Tincture Recipe
Equipment
- Sharp Knife or scissors
- Vodka 100 Proof
- Fine Mesh Strainer or Cheesecloth
- Crockpot
Ingredients
- Usnea
- Vodka
- Filtered Water
Instructions
- Chop usnea into small pieces with a knife or clippers. Can use a herb or coffee grinder.
- Place the chopped usnea in a clean jar. Pour 100 proof vodka over the plant matter until it is just covered.
- Seal the jar and store in cool dark place. Shake twice a day.
- When ready, strain the usnea-infused alcohol and measure its volume before putting it in another jar. This is your alcohol extraction. Set aside the usnea while you prepare the next step of the double extraction.
- Measure out filtered water that is double in volume to the amount of alcohol extraction you just measured.
- Place the Usnea into a crockpot and cover it with the filtered water.
- Turn the crock pot to its lowest setting and let the usnea and water cook until the water is reduced by half. Anywhere from 24 to 48hrs. Keep an eye on it.
- Strain the Usnea from the water. The water should be about equal in amount to the alcohol extraction.
- Combine the alcohol extract (tincture) with the hot water decoction. You now have a dual-extract usnea tincture!
- Label the jar with date, alcohol used, where the plant was collected, and any other info.
- Store tincture in a dark, cool place. Take 1 dropper full 2-4 times a day to fight virus or infection.
Notes
This tincture will turn out a golden brown color and will most likely contain sediment from the plant. You can leave it as it won’t hurt you, but you can also let it settle to the bottom of your jar and slowly siphon off the clear liquid on the top.
Disclaimer:
The Outdoor Apothecary website is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice. The information provided is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information, it is the reader’s responsibility to ensure proper plant identification and usage.
Please be aware that some plants are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects. We are not health professionals, medical doctors, or nutritionists. It is essential to consult with qualified professionals for verification of nutritional information, health benefits, and any potential risks associated with edible and medicinal plants mentioned on this website.
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Hi! When cooking in the crockpot, do I leave the lid off to allow the water to evaporate faster?
No, keep the lid on. The water will evaporate even with it on.
I wanted to try this but it doesn’t say how much usnea is needed!
You can use any amount of usnea you want. The trick is to pour 100 proof vodka over the plant matter until it is just covered. This liquid is what you will later be measuring to determine how much water to use for the decoction.
Hello everyone! 🥰
Ok! I’m a rookie! I am trying to figure all this out (herbal remedies but like a lot of things it’s never ending! 🤪). So what I did was put the usnea in a mason jar, with 100proof alcohol. My question is , now what? I did it backwards on accident….although it says ya can , luckily lol. Any help would be very much appreciated! ❤️. Take care
Can dry usnea be used for tincture? Is potency effected in a fresh vs. Dried preperation?
Hi, I’m at the second stage of the duel extraction. Almost 48 hours later and the water has only reduced by about a quarter. Should I wait a while longer or just use about a quarter of the water left to add to the alcohol extraction? Thanks!
Hi there, I left the usnea in the crock pot for the 2nd part of the dual extraction and all the water dried up…I’m wondering if only using the alcool extraction is still enough….
It sounds like you’ve hit a little bump, but not to worry, these moments are all part of the learning process of crafting herbal remedies. The dual extraction method is a wonderful way to harness both the water-soluble and alcohol-soluble constituents of plants. If you’ve found that the water part of your extraction has evaporated, leaving you with just the alcohol extraction, you’ve still captured a significant portion of usnea’s beneficial properties. For future batches, if you’re drawn to try the dual extraction again, keeping a closer eye on the crock pot or using a lower heat setting could help prevent the water from fully evaporating.
For this process is it best to use it freshly harvested or dehydrated? For the water extraction, do you start with “fresh” usnea, or reuse what was used in the alcohol extraction? If it’s reused, how should it be stored while waiting? Thanks so much!
I am using fresh Usnea for this dual extraction, but you can use dried. For the water extraction, you will use the Usnea that you strained from the alcohol. No storage is needed since you’ll make the water extraction at the time you strain it from the alcohol.
I am also in awe of what nature provides! I’m glad you are feeling better!
Looks like the alcohol extraction is about a month. What are your thoughts about putting the alcohol extraction jar sealed up in the crock pot with some water to speed this part up?
I haven’t personally used this method, but this article from Growing up Herbal might be just what you are looking for: https://growingupherbal.com/how-to-make-an-usnea-tincture/
Can you give reasons why dual extraction is needed for usnea? What components are released in the water extraction? Also do you have sources for the claim of the mechanism of how it effects bacteria reproduction. I would be interested in reading any studies.
A double-extraction is the process of using both alcohol and water to extract different properties. Beneficial properties in certain lichens and mushrooms called beta-glucans, are water-soluble while other properties called triterpenes are alcohol-soluble. Using a double extraction method, we are able to obtain all of these medicinal constitutes. Much of what I learned about Usnea was from studying the work of clinical herbalist Paul Bergner. I would recommend reading the following: https://medherb.com/Therapeutics/Immune_-_Lymphatics_and_antibiotics.htm and https://www.scribd.com/document/326955501/Usnea-Booklet-Text
I use the coffee grinder to turn it into a fine powder when i want to use it
I use a coffee filter and pour boiling water over it result is a strong red liquid
could be potent, could I store the liquid in the fridge would it deplete over time
Should you wash the Usenea first? Then dry it? It looks pretty dirty.
You can rinse your usnea with cool water, and that should be fine for a little dirt.