LICHALP

Cetraria islandica (L.) Ach. subsp. crispiformis (Räsänen) Kärnefelt

Syn.: Cetraria islandica (L.) Ach. var. crispiformis Räsänen

Lichenised.

Substrate: acidic soil (mostly on siliceous substrata)

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: a taxon with narrower lobes and few, very small, laminal pseudocyphellae, found in the understory of subalpine coniferous forests and alpine heaths; it has an arctic-alpine distribution and in Europe is common in Scandinavia and in the British Isles, while from continental Europe there are only a few records; rare in the Alps, but perhaps overlooked or not distinguished from the typical variety.