Letharia vulpina (plant)

### Effects

Can harm and/or kill mundane canine animals; the specific strain born from the blood of a Nogitsune can weaken/suppress powers and shapeshifting abilities in canine shapeshifters

### Varieties

* Plant
* Liquid

### Users

* Alan Deaton
* Ikeda

### Related

 * Mistletoe
* Wolfsbane

***Letharia vulpina***, also known as **"wolf lichen,"** is a type of lichen (which itself is a type of fungus) that grows in the bark of living and dead conifer trees throughout Europe, the Pacific Northwest, and the Rocky Mountain region.

In the *Teen Wolf* series, there is a very rare and powerful strain of *letharia vulpina* that was unique due to the fact that it was grown from the blood of a slain Nogitsune; specifically, it grew from where blood of a Kumicho who was possessed by an unknown Nogitsune had spilled onto a cement fountain in Ikeda's garden in Japan. Lichen itself has traditionally been used to poison canine species such as wolves, coyotes, and foxes, and the specific strain featured in the series has the ability to weaken and or suppress the powers of canine supernatural shapeshifters such as Werewolves, Werecoyotes, and Kitsune as well.

It is unknown how the plant would affect other shapeshifting species, such as Kanimas, Löwenmenschen, or Werejaguars; the Kanima is a reptilian species, while the Werejaguar is a feline species, and the Löwenmensch is a canine/feline hybrid, but all of the species have relationships with the most common shapeshifting species— the Werewolf. Additionally, in the real world, vulpinic acid, the yellow dye that poisons these animals, is toxic to *all* mammals, suggesting that, while it may be more effective on canines due to the name (*vulpina* is Latin for "fox," and it's known as *wolf* lichen), these other species could be weakened by it as well.

The plant was seen for the first and only time in the Season 3 episode of the same name, when it was harvested in Japan and weaponized by Alan Deaton as a way to temporarily suppress the control a powerful Void Kitsune known as the Nogitsune had over the body of Stiles Stilinski, who it was possessing. The lichen not only gave Stiles control over his body once again, but it also nullified all of its powers, including its ability to heal at an accelerated pace, causing him to develop a Lichtenberg figure on his back from being electrocuted by Kira Yukimura's foxfire in *Galvanize*. The effects of the poison lasted for two or three days, but the Nogitsune's recovery from the plant was accelerated by the fact that Stiles was given haloperidol, an anti-psychotic that caused him to fall asleep for several hours, making him more vulnerable to the Nogitsune's weakened influence and giving the Dark Kitsune the opportunity to regain control earlier than expected. *("Echo House")*

## Victims of Lichen Poisoning

* Nogitsune (while possessing Stiles) by Alan Deaton *("Letharia Vulpina")*

## Appearances

* *Letharia Vulpina*
* *Echo House* (mentioned)

## Trivia

* According to Alan Deaton, hunters of mundane canines would set traps with raw meat mixed with broken glass and *letharia vulpina*, as the glass tore the intestines and made the animals absorb the vulpinic acid much quicker.
	+ This is also true in real life; in earlier times, hunters would stuff reindeer carcasses with powdered glass and lichen, or would mix lichen with reindeer fat and leave it out for the animals to eat, causing them to become poisoned by the vulpinic acid.
* Deaton was able to poison the Nogitsune with the lichen by distilling it into a liquid and injecting it into one of the major blood vessels in Stiles Stilinski's neck.
* Marin Morrell remarked that the fact that a Lichtenberg figure appeared on Stiles' back after receiving a dose of "wolf lichen" was both "significant and strange," though she did not elaborate on what she meant by this. *("Echo House")*

## Gallery

*Teen Wolf Wiki* has 3 images related to ***Letharia vulpina (plant)***.

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letharia\_vulpina