LICHALP

Rhizocarpon geminatum Körb.

Syn.: Biatorina concreta (Ach.) Mudd, Buellia concreta (Ach.) Zwackh, Rhizocarpon concretum (Ach.) Zahlbr., Rhizocarpon disporum auct. non (Nägeli ex Hepp) Müll. Arg.

Lichenised.

Substrate: siliceous rocks

Altitudinal range: from the submediterranean/colline belt (potential vegetation: mixed deciduous forests dominated by Quercus and Carpinus) to the alpine belt (potential vegetation: treeless Alpine grasslands and tundras, to the lower limit of perennial snow and the equilibrium line of glaciers)

Note: a widespread lichen of dry-continental areas found on steeply inclined faces of base-rich or weakly calciferous siliceous rocks, both in natural and man-made substrata (e.g. on roofing tiles, walls); a chemically heterogeneous species, probably less thermophilous than the closely related Rh. disporum.