rock tripe

noun

1. any lichen of the genus Umbilicaria.

rock tripe

noun

1. any of various edible lichens, esp of the genus Umbilicaria , that grow on rocks and are used in the North as a survival food

Word History and Origins

Origin of rock tripe¹

First recorded in 1850–55; allegedly so called in reference to the appearance of the thallus

Example Sentences

The stone was mostly covered by ragged, bluish-green rock-tripe in partly overlapping sheets.

From Project Gutenberg

There was one cable Burl had missed, hidden by rock-tripe and mould in a depressed part of the cliff-top.

From Project Gutenberg

The stone was mostly covered by bluish-green rock-tripe in partly overlapping sheets.

From Project Gutenberg

We used to eat a kind of moss called rock-tripe, sweetened bark, and May-apples, that tasted of the peach and the raspberry.

From Project Gutenberg

On reaching the rock, they saw what Norman had meant by the words tripe de roche (rock-tripe).

From Project Gutenberg