Umbilicaria esculenta
| Umbilicaria esculenta | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Umbilicariales |
| Family: | Umbilicariaceae |
| Genus: | Umbilicaria |
| Species: | U. esculenta
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| Binomial name | |
| Umbilicaria esculenta (Miyoshi) (1900)
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| Synonyms | |
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Umbilicaria esculenta is a lichen of the genus Umbilicaria that grows on rocks, also known as rock tripe. It can be found in East Asia including in China, Japan, and Korea. It is edible when properly prepared and has been used as a food source and medicine. It is called iwatake (kanji: 岩茸 or 石茸) in Japanese and seogi (hangul: 석이; hanja: 石耳; literally "stone ear" or "rock ear") or seogi beoseot (hangul: 석이버섯; literally "stone ear mushroom") in Korean. The species name is based on the earlier basionym esculenta.
In vitro antiviral activity[]
Polysaccharides from the lichen have been shown to inhibit replication of the HIV virus in laboratory tests.[1]
Gallery[]
Iwatake gathering at Kumano in Kishū, by Hiroshige II
Korean pan-fried Umbilicaria esculenta
References[]
- ^ Hirabayashi K, Iwata S, Ito M, Shigeta S, Narui T, Mori T, et al. (1989). "Inhibitory effect of a lichen polysaccharide sulfate, GE-3-S, on the replication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in vitro". Chem Pharm Bull. 37 (9): 2410–2412. doi:10.1248/cpb.37.2410. PMID 2575016.
- Moo-Sung Kim; Hong-Bum Cho (December 2007). "Melanogenesis Inhibitory Effects of Methanolic Extracts of Umbilicaria esculenta and Usnea longissima" (PDF). 45 (6). The Journal of Microbiology: 578–582. Cite journal requires
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- Umbilicariales
- Edible fungi
- Lichens described in 1893
- Fungi used in traditional Chinese medicine
- Lecanoromycetes stubs