LICHALP

Caloplaca saxifragarum Poelt

Syn.: Athallia saxifragarum (Poelt) Arup, Frödén & Søchting, Callopisma luteoalbum (Ach.) A. Massal. var. microcarpum (Anzi) Anzi, Callopisma pyraceum (Ach.) Stein var. microcarpum (Anzi) Arnold, Caloplaca pyracea (Ach.) Zwackh var. microcarpa (Anzi) Dalla Torre & Sarnth., Caloplaca schoeferi Poelt, Placodium luteoalbum (Ach.) Hepp var. microcarpum Anzi

Lichenised.

Substrate: living mosses, plant debris

Altitudinal range: from the subalpine belt (potential vegetation: open, taiga-like forests dominated by Larix decidua and/or Pinus cembra and Rhododendron) to the nival belt (above the lower limit of perennial snow and glaciers)

Note: a circumpolar, arctic-alpine lichen found on plant debris (especially on dead leaves of Saxifraga, Dryas and Carex firma), and on moribund bryophytes in open habitats over calcareous or dolomitic substrata, most common above treeline; widespread throughout the Alps.