Umbilicaria esculenta
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 in Japanese and seogi or seogi beoseot in Korean.
The species name is based on the earlier basionym Gyrophora esculenta.s from the lichen have been shown to inhibit replication of the HIV virus in laboratory tests.Gallery
