Reindeer often spend winter pawing through snow for lichen, but they do not all eat the same fixed menu. Here are five representative winter forage groups—and why “reindeer moss” is actually a lichen.
In winter, reindeer commonly rely on terrestrial lichens, especially species in the genus Cladonia. They also eat exposed dwarf shrubs such as black crowberry, bilberry, and lingonberry, along with willow, sedges, grasses, and rushes. However, this is a representative list—not a fixed five-item menu for every reindeer herd.
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There is also an important terminology correction: “reindeer moss” is not actually a moss. It is a lichen—a partnership between a fungus and a photosynthetic organism. Lichens are often discussed alongside plants, but they are not ordinary vascular plants such as grasses, shrubs, or trees.
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Winter reduces the amount of accessible green vegetation across the Arctic and sub-Arctic. Reindeer and their North American relatives, caribou, therefore depend heavily on forage that remains available beneath or above the snow. In many lichen-rich ranges, low-growing terrestrial lichens make up much of the late-winter diet.
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Reindeer may paw through snow with their hooves to uncover lichen mats. They also search for wind-scoured ridges, exposed slopes, open woodland, and other places where snow is shallow or has been blown away. When lichens are buried under deep snow, sealed beneath an ice crust, or scarce in the habitat, reindeer broaden their diet to include shrubs and wintergreen grasses and sedges.
Five winter plants and plant-like foods reindeer eat
1. Reindeer lichens: Cladonia species
Reindeer lichens are the most important winter forage in many lichen-rich habitats. Common examples include Cladonia arbuscula, Cladonia rangiferina, and Cladonia stellaris. They form pale, branching mats on the ground and are particularly characteristic of open northern forests, tundra, and heathlands.
Despite the familiar name “reindeer moss,” these organisms are lichens, not true mosses. Reindeer often dig through snow to reach them, and their abundance can strongly influence how much time animals spend feeding in a particular area.
Lichens have several qualities that make them valuable in winter. They can remain available in cold, nutrient-poor environments, and their structure makes them relatively easy for reindeer to locate and consume when snow conditions allow access. Lichen tissue is also highly digestible and can provide substantial energy.
That does not make lichen a nutritionally complete food by itself. Compared with many vascular plants, lichens are relatively low in protein. Reindeer benefit from adding shrubs and graminoids when those foods are accessible.
If you want to distinguish “reindeer moss” from actual mosses and learn the differences among Cladonia species, a lichen field guide or beginner naturalist guide can be useful. Identification is best treated as a nature-study activity rather than a reason to collect or feed wild forage to animals.
2. Black crowberry: Empetrum nigrum
Black crowberry is an evergreen dwarf shrub that can supplement the winter diet. It grows close to the ground and may remain reachable on exposed ridges, rocky heaths, and other sites where wind prevents deep snow from accumulating.
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Its evergreen foliage gives reindeer a potential source of browse after many deciduous plants have lost their leaves. Crowberry is documented as winter forage, but it should not automatically be described as a favorite food. In some feeding studies and dietary reviews, Empetrum appears less preferred than several reindeer-lichen species.
Its role is therefore often best understood in relation to availability. A reindeer may eat crowberry when a patch is exposed, when preferred lichen is sparse, or when snow and ice make the lichen difficult to reach. The same shrub can be more or less important in different regions and winters.
3. Bilberry or blueberry: Vaccinium myrtillus
Bilberry, also called European blueberry, is a secondary winter forage plant. The low shrub occurs in northern forests, heathlands, and other habitats used by reindeer. Some of its foliage can remain available during winter, especially where snow cover is light or disturbed.
Vaccinium myrtillus has been recorded in winter feeding research and in simulated reindeer winter rations. It can supplement lichen when dwarf-shrub vegetation is exposed, but it is not a universal winter staple and should not be presented as equally important everywhere.
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4. Lingonberry or cowberry: Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Lingonberry is another evergreen dwarf shrub that reindeer may eat in winter. Also known as cowberry, it grows in northern woodland, heath, and tundra-edge habitats. Its low growth form means that leaves and stems can sometimes be reached through shallow snow or on wind-exposed ground.
Lingonberry is especially relevant when explaining why winter diet depends on landscape details. A plant may be abundant across a range but unavailable beneath deep snow. Conversely, a relatively small patch on a wind-scoured slope can become an important feeding site.
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As with crowberry and bilberry, lingonberry is not a preferred staple for every herd. Regional evidence suggests that it may be relatively unpreferred or function mainly as fallback forage. The accurate description is that reindeer eat it in some winter ranges when it is accessible—not that every reindeer depends heavily on it.
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5. Willow, sedges, grasses, and rushes
The fifth category is a group of vascular plants rather than one supposedly universal species. Reindeer may eat willow species, sedges, grasses, and rushes during winter, particularly when their stems or leaves protrude above snow or when other forage is hard to reach.
Willows are important browse plants in many northern ecosystems. Polar willow, for example, has been documented in the winter diet of Svalbard reindeer. Wintergreen graminoids—plants in the grass, sedge, and rush groups—can also contribute where they remain exposed or available beneath a manageable snow layer.
This category highlights the substantial differences among reindeer populations. Svalbard reindeer, which live in an environment where terrestrial lichens are relatively scarce, can have winter diets unusually rich in graminoids. In other areas, lichens dominate and vascular plants make a smaller contribution.
Willow and graminoids may also become more important when rain freezes into an ice layer over the snow. An ice crust can prevent reindeer from pawing down to low-growing lichen mats, making any exposed stems, ridges, or snow-free patches disproportionately valuable.
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Snow depth
Deep snow can bury low-growing lichens and dwarf shrubs. Reindeer are capable of digging, but digging requires energy, and the depth and hardness of the snow determine whether a food patch is worth the effort. Shallow snow allows much easier access to ground-level forage.
Wind and exposed ground
Wind-scoured ridges and slopes often have less snow than sheltered hollows. These locations can expose lichen mats, crowberry, bilberry, lingonberry, or graminoid stems. A plant’s importance is therefore determined not only by whether it grows in the region, but also by whether reindeer can reach it at that moment.
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Ice crusts and thaw-freeze events
A period of mild weather followed by freezing rain can create a hard layer over the snow. This “icing” may block access to forage that would otherwise be available. Reindeer may then move to different habitats, search for exposed vegetation, or consume a larger share of shrubs and graminoids.
Habitat and latitude
Winter diets differ between tundra, open woodland, forest, coastal areas, and islands. The same species can also have different diets at different latitudes because plant communities and snow conditions change. A lichen-rich forest range is not nutritionally or botanically equivalent to a lichen-poor Arctic island.
Seasonal timing
“Winter diet” is not identical throughout the entire cold season. Early winter, midwinter, and late winter can bring different snow depths and different access to vegetation. A herd may rely heavily on lichens at one point and switch toward exposed shrubs or graminoids after a weather event.
Are lichens the only food reindeer need in winter?
No. Lichens are often the dominant winter food where they are abundant and accessible, but they do not provide every nutrient in ideal proportions. Their high digestibility and energy content are useful, while their relatively low protein content helps explain why reindeer also consume vascular plants when they can find them.
Diet studies illustrate this regional variation. In northwest Alaska, lichens made up approximately 71% of late-winter caribou diets in one documented analysis, with mosses and shrubs contributing much of the remainder. By contrast, reconstructed late-winter diets of Svalbard reindeer were dominated by graminoids, with mosses and polar willow also contributing.
These figures should not be converted into a universal reindeer diet formula. They describe particular populations and conditions. The proportion of each food changes with weather, snow, habitat, season, and the local supply of terrestrial or tree-growing lichens.
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They may move toward wind-scoured ground, snow-free slopes, or forest habitats where food is easier to access. In some forests, reindeer can also use arboreal lichens—lichens growing on trees—particularly when terrestrial forage is buried or unavailable.
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They may increase their use of evergreen dwarf shrubs, willow, sedges, grasses, and rushes. The exact response depends on what grows locally and whether the vegetation is exposed. A severe winter can make the difference between a plentiful food patch and an inaccessible one.
How does the winter diet compare with the summer diet?
Winter narrows the accessible forage base, which is why lichens receive so much attention. In summer, reindeer can choose from a much broader supply of fresh leaves, herbs, grasses, sedges, shrubs, and mushrooms. New growth also generally provides more protein than the lichen-heavy diet available in many winter ranges.
The contrast is not absolute: reindeer may eat vascular plants in winter and lichens in other seasons. It is the availability and accessibility of foods—not a rigid calendar rule—that determines the balance.
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Summary
The five representative winter forage entries are:
- Reindeer lichens, especially Cladonia species—the principal winter food in many lichen-rich ranges.
- Black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum)—an exposed, evergreen fallback or supplemental shrub.
- Bilberry or blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus)—a secondary forage plant available in some snowy northern habitats.
- Lingonberry or cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea)—another evergreen shrub eaten when accessible.
- Willow, sedges, grasses, and rushes—a varied group that can become especially important where lichens are scarce or buried.
The central lesson is that there is no single winter menu shared by every reindeer. Lichens often dominate, but snow, ice, wind, habitat, geography, and seasonal timing determine what the animals can actually reach.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a reindeer’s main winter food?
Reindeer commonly eat terrestrial lichens, especially species of Cladonia, along with accessible dwarf shrubs, willow, sedges, grasses, and rushes. The exact mix varies with region, snow, habitat, and season.
Is reindeer moss actually moss?
No. “Reindeer moss” is a common name for several lichens, particularly Cladonia species. Lichens are symbiotic organisms and are not true mosses or ordinary vascular plants.
Do reindeer eat blueberries and lingonberries in winter?
Yes, reindeer can eat bilberry and lingonberry in some winter ranges, but these shrubs are usually better described as secondary or fallback forage rather than universal staples.
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Why do different reindeer herds have different winter diets?
Snow depth, ice crusts, wind exposure, habitat, latitude, and local plant availability all affect the winter diet. Svalbard reindeer, for example, can rely more heavily on graminoids because lichens are scarce there.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Reindeer often depend on terrestrial lichens—especially Cladonia—during winter, but they also eat accessible crowberry, bilberry, lingonberry, willow, sedges, grasses, and rushes. “Reindeer moss” is a lichen, not a true moss, and the balance of foods varies greatly among herds and habitats.
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