old man's beard; Usnea lichen
Refers to any lichen of the genus Usnea, commonly called old man's beard in English. The Japanese name literally means 'monkey's hair'.
A lot of old man's beard was hanging from the branches of the trees in the forest.
Old man's beard is a type of lichen that grows in places with clean air.
Katakana spelling is common for this lichen name; usually written in kana.
Rarely used kanji form.
Rarely used kanji form.
The name サルオガセ (saruo-gase) is composed of 猿 (saru, 'monkey') and 麻桛 or 尾枷 (ogase, an old term for a type of hanging moss or lichen), literally 'monkey's hanging moss'. The exact derivation of ogase is uncertain, but it likely refers to something that hangs like hair or a tail.