Rhizocarpon grande (Flörke ex Flot.) Arnold

Flora (Regensburg), 54: 149, 1871.. Basionym: Lecidea petraea f. grandis Flörke ex Flot. - Flora (Regensburg), 11, 2: 690, 1828.
Synonyms: Rhizocarpon endamyleum Th. Fr.
Distribution: N - TAA (Nascimbene & al. 2022).
Description: Thallus crustose, episubstratic, verrucose-areolate to bullate-verruculose, rather thick, grey-brown to pale grey, sometimes violet-tinged, rarely white-grey. Areoles up to 1.4(-2) mm wide, contiguous or more or less dispersed, constricted at base. Medulla white, faintly I+ blue. Apothecia lecideine, black, arising between the areoles, angular or rounded, up to 1.2(-1.5) mm across, with a flat to convex disc, and a thin, soon excluded proper margin. Proper exciple thin, K+ purple; epithecium reddish brown or black-brown, K+ purple; hymenium colourless to pale brown in upper part; paraphysoids coherent, capitate; hypothecium: brown, K-. Asci 8-spored, clavate, fissitunicate, with a well-developed tholus, lacking an ocular chamber, Rhizocarpon-type. Ascospores muriform, often aborted, dark brown, ellipsoid, 24-48 x 11-18 µm. Photobiont chlorococcoid. Spot tests: cortex K-, C+ pale pink; medulla K+ yellow or K-, C+ red, KC+ red, P+ orange, or P-. Chemistry: gyrophoric and barbatic acids, and variable amounts of stictic and norstictic acids.
Note: a silicicolous species resembling Rh. eupetraeum, but medulla with a different secondary chemistry, and ascospores larger; widespread in Europe, including the Alps, but the known distribution is lacunose, since the species was not always distinguished from Rh. eupetraeum. To be looked for further in the Italian Alps
Growth form: Crustose
Substrata: rocks
Photobiont: green algae other than Trentepohlia
Reproductive strategy: mainly sexual

Commonnes-rarity: (info)

Alpine belt: absent
Subalpine belt: very rare
Oromediterranean belt: absent
Montane belt: very rare
Submediterranean belt: extremely rare
Padanian area: absent
Humid submediterranean belt: absent
Humid mediterranean belt: absent
Dry mediterranean belt: absent

pH of the substrata:

12345

Solar irradiation:

12345

Aridity:

12345

Eutrophication:

12345

Poleotolerance:

0123

Altitudinal distribution:

123456


Predictive model
Herbarium samples

Matthias Schultz - © - Nash et al. (2007) Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region, Volume I