LICHALP

Candelariella commutata Otte & M. Westb.

Syn.: Candelariella aurella (Hoffm.) Zahlbr. var. unilocularis auct. non. (Elenkin) Zahlbr.

Lichenised.

Substrate: calciferous soil, plant debris, calciferous rocks,

Altitudinal range: from the subalpine belt (potential vegetation: open, taiga-like forests dominated by Larix decidua and/or Pinus cembra and Rhododendron) 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: an arctic-alpine species, widespread in the mountains of the southern holarctic zone; it is found on epilithic mosses on limestone and dolomite, a characteristic element of calcareous mountains, with optimum above treeline.