松しょう蘿ら

noun

old man's beard; Usnea lichen

Refers to any lichen of the genus Usnea, commonly called old man's beard. The reading さるおがせ is standard; katakana サルオガセ is frequent in scientific contexts.

See also: サルオガセ

• 松蘿さるおがせは湿しつ度どの高たかい森もりでよく見みられる地ち衣い類るいです。

  Usnea is a lichen often found in humid forests.

noun

pine tree vines; deep entanglement

Only with reading しょうら

Archaic figurative use, restricted to the reading しょうら. Describes vines on pine trees or, metaphorically, a deeply entangled situation.

• 古こ歌かでは「松しょう蘿ら」をしょうらと読よみ、松まつに絡からまる蔓つるを詠よんだ。

  In old poems, 松蘿 is read as しょうら and refers to vines entwining pine trees.