LICHALP

Lepra amara (Ach.) Hafellner

Syn.: Marfloraea amara (Ach.) S.Y. Kondr., Lőkös & Hur, Pertusaria amara (Ach.) Nyl., Pertusaria faginea auct., Pertusaria pulvinata Erichsen, Pertusaria slesvicensis Erichsen, Variolaria amara Ach.

Lichenised.

Substrate: bark, lignum, siliceous rocks

Altitudinal range: from the mesomediterranean belt (potential vegetation: evergreen broad-leaved forests dominated by Quercus ilex) 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 widespread holarctic lichen, certainly the most common epiphytic species of the genus throughout the Alps, with a wide ecological range; it often behaves as an aggressive competitor, being able to overgrow other crustose lichens and sometimes even bryophytes.