Cetraria islandica - Although Iceland moss has the appearance of a moss, it is a lichen, an organism growing from algae or cyanobacteria in a symbiotic relationship with its host. It is found throughout the northern regions of the Americas and Europe. Iceland moss prefers damp environments, usually near rocks or within the bark of conifer trees. Lichens have a slow growth pattern, but serve as an important winter food source for woodland caribou throughout the northern hemisphere.
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Landnámabók is a written record detailing the Norse settlement of Iceland in the 9th and 10th century. The book has over 100 chapters providing descriptive accounts of more than 3,000 individuals and 1,400 settlements. The Landnámabók proclaims Ingólfr Arnarson, arriving in 874, as the first permanent settler in Iceland; he was a Norwegian chieftain and the founder of Reykjavík. Several Celtic missions had been established in Iceland by hermitic Papar monks prior to the Norse settlement of Iceland.
