LICHALP

Thrombium epigaeum (Pers.) Wallr.

Syn.: Sphaeria epigaea Pers., Thrombium aoristoides I.M. Lamb, Verrucaria epigaea (Pers.) Ach.

Lichenised.

Substrate: acidic soil (mostly on siliceous substrata), calciferous soil

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: an ephemeral, probably holarctic coloniser of calciferous, clayey soil in rather disturbed habitats, such as track sides and openings in grasslands; widespread throughout the Alps.