rock tripe

American

noun

any lichen of the genus Umbilicaria.

rock tripe British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of rock tripe

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Probably," says Margry, "he must, from time to time, have added some of the lichen which the Canadians call rock tripe."

From Project Gutenberg

The most wonderful of all is probably the greenish-black rock tripe, found on the bleakest, highest rocks in the northern parts of this continent.

From Project Gutenberg

We lived for weeks on reindeer moss and rock tripe.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023