LICHALP

Usnea rubicunda Stirt.

Syn.: Usnea protensa Stirt., Usnea rubiginea auct. non (Michx.) A. Massal., Usnea sublurida Stirt.

Lichenised.

Substrate: bark

Altitudinal range: from the mesomediterranean belt (potential vegetation: evergreen broad-leaved forests dominated by Quercus ilex) to the subalpine belt (potential vegetation: open, taiga-like forests dominated by Larix decidua and/or Pinus cembra and Rhododendron)

Note: a mild-temperate, chiefly Mediterranean-Atlantic species found on ancient specimens of Quercus cerris, Q. suber, and other acid-barked broad-leaved trees in open, but semi-natural, warm-humid forests below the montane belt; most records from the Alps are historical and/or dubious.