LICHALP

Helocarpon pulverulum (Th. Fr.) Türk & Hafellner

Syn.: Helocarpon crassipes auct. eur. merid. non Th. Fr., Lecidea crassipes (Th. Fr.) Nyl. f. pulverula Th. Fr., Micarea crassipes auct. eur. merid. non (Th. Fr.) Coppins

Lichenised. Poorly known taxon.

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 alpine belt (potential vegetation: treeless Alpine grasslands and tundras, to the lower limit of perennial snow and the equilibrium line of glaciers)

Note: thallus composed of densely arranged pulverulent granules, taxonomic value in need of re-evaluation; on bryophytes and plant debris on the ground and amongst rocks, in areas with siliceous substrata, with optimum near treeline; widespread in the Holarctic region, and fairly common in the Eastern Alps.