LICHALP

Rhizocarpon drepanodes Feuerer

Syn.: Rhizocarpon lecanorinum Anders subsp. drepanodes (Feuerer) Clauzade & Cl. Roux

Lichenised.

Substrate: siliceous rocks, metal-rich siliceous 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: similar to Rh. ferax in the thallus with scattered, convex, roundish to lunulate areoles with laterally attached apothecia, but ascospores larger (to 50 µm long), and with a higher number of cells in optical view (mean c. 35); on steep rock faces and under overhangs of siliceous rocks, in upland areas; not easy to distinguish from Rh. ferax; widespread in Europe, including the Alps. According to Roux, however, all of the records from the French Alps are either very dubious or refer to specimens of R. lecanorinum with a medulla reacting P+ yellow.