Preserved lichen is one of the most used materials for building green walls, pictures and furniture items. Belonging to the genus Cladonia, its scientific name is Cladonia stellaris, but it is also known as star-tipped cup lichen. I The name comes from the Latin stellaris, stellar, which means similar to a star.
In nature, Lichen is whitish and can be found mainly in the wooded areas of Northern Europe and North America, mostly in coniferous forests. This material is collected in a controlled way, through concessions regulated by governments, and is destined to preservation by completely natural techniques, maintaining its beauty and softness.
The preserved Lichen that we use comes from Finland. In addition to having guarantees of durability and quality, it is collected in full respect of forests and nature, under strict government control.
The preserved Bulk Lichen that we sell has the characteristic of being tufted, that can have variable size (6-7 cm high). This material consists of the base of the lichen and the tops, that is the most beautiful part, which is normally seen in panels and pictures.
To work it, it is necessary to take each tuft manually and cut with common scissors the basal part. Be careful to adjust the cut always to the same size, which we recommend to be between 3 and 4 cm (tops side). In this way you will have a uniform final application. You don’t have to cut it, but then if you fix it in a frame or panel, gravity will tilt the lichen and the result will be unsatisfactory.
Once you have prepared the preserved lichen, cutting it to a uniform size, you will need a support to fix it to. Normally we use MDF panels (medium density fibreboard derived from wood), 6 mm thick. Materials such as plywood, or synthetic materials such as carpet, may also be suitable. The important thing is the thickness: for a wall we recommend it to be about 6 mm thick, for a picture about 10 mm. We suggest not to go below these thicknesses, otherwise by using the glue the risk is that the surfaces will deform once dry.
To fix the Lichen to the support, we recommend to use the transparent neutral Silicone, or similar glues. Do not use hot glue, because it could dry out the Lichen, which would end up not sticking well to the wall.
At this point you just have to figure out how much material you will need: to cover an area of 1 square meter, using only the tops, you need 3.5 kg of Preserved Lichen. With a box of Preserved Lichen 500 g you will cover 0.15 sqm. Obviously if you use the whole lichen, including the headless part, discarding only the final roots, you should decrease the material needed of about 30%, and the result will be a mixed panel: tops-head and basal-without head lichen.
MATERIAL | COVERED AREA |
| LICHEN BOX OF 500 g | 0,15 sqm |
| LICHEN BOX OF 3.5 kg | 1 sqm |
In case you use the tops of the Lichen only, with the headless part you can make other objects, or use them as decoration for the table and your parties.
P.S. Please note: the preserved Lichen is available in many colours, and it is also suitable for your companies logos!