LICHALP

Rhizocarpon leptolepis Anzi

Syn.: Rhizocarpon phalerosporum (Vain.) Vain.

Lichenised.

Substrate: siliceous rocks

Altitudinal range: from the montane belt (potential vegetation: deciduous forests dominated by Fagus sylvatica and closed coniferous forests with Picea abies) 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 boreal-montane to arctic-alpine species growing on steeply inclined surfaces of hard siliceous rocks in sheltered situations, mostly in upland areas.