LICHALP

Rhizocarpon sorediosum Runemark

Lichenised.

Substrate: metal-rich siliceous rocks, siliceous rocks

Altitudinal range: from the montane belt (potential vegetation: deciduous forests dominated by Fagus sylvatica and closed coniferous forests with Picea abies) 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: closely related and similar to Rh. ridescens, but thallus less vivid yellow-green, with mostly flat areoles; on heavy metals-bearing siliceous rocks in upland areas; probably overlooked, being almost always sterile; in the study area so far reported from the Eastern Alps (Austria, Italy).