LICHALP

Verrucaria dolosa Hepp

Syn.: ?Verrucaria krempelhuberi Lindau, Verrucaria mutabilis auct. p.p. non Leight.

Lichenised.

Substrate: calciferous rocks, siliceous rocks, intermediate rocks (such as calciferous schists)

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: a probably holarctic early coloniser of small pebbles near the ground, both on calcareous and base-rich siliceous rocks, in sheltered situations such as in open woodlands and in moist habitats by watercourses, e.g. in the splash zone. The species is related to V. hydrophila; widespread throughout the siliceous Alps.