LICHALP

Caloplaca crenulatella (Nyl.) H. Olivier

Syn.: Caloplaca lactea (A. Massal.) Zahlbr. f. aestimabilis (Arnold) Lettau, Caloplaca lactea (A. Massal.) Zahlbr. f. ecrustacea (Harm.) Zahlbr., Lecanora crenulatella Nyl., Placodium crenulatellum (Nyl.) A.L. Sm., Xanthocarpia crenulatella (Nyl.) Frödén, Arup & Søchting

Lichenised.

Substrate: calciferous rocks

Altitudinal range: from the mesomediterranean belt (potential vegetation: evergreen broad-leaved forests dominated by Quercus ilex) to the subalpine belt (potential vegetation: open, taiga-like forests dominated by Larix decidua and/or Pinus cembra and Rhododendron)

Note: a mild-temperate to subtropical species, often found on calcareous walls, perhaps parasitic of Verrucaria nigrescens when young. Very much misunderstood in the past (see also note on C. lactea): recently, this taxon has been considered to be paraphyletic and to contain at least four lineages. Some records from siliceous rocks could refer to C. prinii B. de Lesd.