Taking a liking to lichen
If you happen to be in New Zealand and are unnerved by that man over there apparently licking the pavement, don’t be alarmed. He is probably just after his fill of Xanthoparmelia scabrosa, a grey, leafy lichen commonly found on Kiwi roads and sidewalks. It contains a chemical somewhat similar to the active ingredient in Viagra, gaining it the soubriquet “sexy pavement lichen”.
Online marketplaces have taken to selling X. scabrosa by the kilo as a herbal alternative to the little blue pills. Now Kiwi news outlet Newsroom researchers…
