LICHALP

Cystocoleus ebeneus (Dillwyn) Thwaites

Syn.: Coenogonium ebeneum (Dillwyn) A.L. Sm., Coenogonium germanicum Glück, Coenogonium nigrum auct. non (Huds.) Zahlbr., Conferva ebenea Dillwyn, Cystocoleus niger auct. non (Huds.) Har.

Lichenised.

Substrate: siliceous rocks, living mosses

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 cool-temperate to boreal-montane, probably holarctic lichen found on vertical to underhanging surfaces of siliceous rocks protected from rain in very humid situations, more rarely on soil. The species often grows with Racodium rupestre, forming black, felt-like patches over extensive areas of rock; the most commonly associated lichens are species of Lepraria; widespread throughout the Alps.