Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
BUCKBEARD, n. “A kind of hard fog [lichen], of a white nature, which is found growing on rocks — often it is seen in the form of a wine-glass, or inverted cone, and looks very beautiful; it is not used now-a-days for any thing I know of, but anciently the witches found it an useful ingredient in a charm mixture” (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 99); “a kind of whitish or grey lichen found growing on rocks on the edge of woods, generally near water” (Ayr., Gall. 1887 Jam.6). Buck's beard, with this meaning, is obs. in Eng.
[Jam. says it is “named from its resemblance to the beard of a buck (he-goat).”]
