It was used for making alcohol in Sweden, but abandoned due to its low yield and rarity.

Ramalina was used in Russia in 1944 to replace beets in the production of sugar.

It can also be used to make sourdough for making bread. But its name "farinacea" does not come from that, but from its numerous floury marginal soralia (a powdered lichen concentrate, very volatile, used for the asexual reproduction of the lichen).