LICHALP

Stereocaulon tomentosum Fr.

Syn.: Stereocaulon botryocarpum H. Magn., Stereocaulon tomentosum Fr. var. alpestre Flot., Stereocaulon tomentosum Fr. var. campestre Körb.

Lichenised.

Substrate: acidic soil (mostly on siliceous substrata)

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 mainly boreal-montane, circumpolar lichen found on mineral soil in open habitats, such as in clearings of Pinus-stands; several records from the Alps need re-confirmation; see also note on S. symphycheilum.