Bellemerea alpina (Sommerf.) Clauzade & Cl. Roux

Bull. Soc. Bot. Centre-Ouest, n. sér. 15: 129, 1984. Basionym: Lecanora alpina Sommerf. - Suppl. Flor. Lappon.: 91, 1826.
Synonyms: Aspicilia alpina (Sommerf.) Arnold; Aspicilia cinereorufescens sensu Körb. non (Ach.) A. Massal.; Aspicilia cinereorufescens var. macrocarpa Anzi non Aspicilia calcarea var. alpina Anzi; Lecanora alpina var. sulphurata Th. Fr.
Distribution: N - Frl (Tretiach & Hafellner 2000, Ivanova & Hafellner 2002), Ven, TAA (Caniglia & al. 2002, Nascimbene 2003, Lang 2009, Nascimbene & al. 2022), Lomb, Piem (Morisi & Sereno 1995, Isocrono & al. 2004, Isocrono & Piervittori 2008, Favero-Longo & al. 2015), VA (Piervittori & al. 2004, Isocrono & al. 2008, Favero-Longo & Piervittori 2009).
Description: Thallus crustose, episubstratic, rimose-areolate, rather thick, white to lead-grey or rarely pale brown, forming 1-5 cm wide, more or less orbicular patches or mosaics, sometimes delimited by a black prothallus. Areoles flat to convex, (0.2-)0.5-2(-3) mm wide, contiguous or rarely dispersed, sorediate in some forms. Soredia sometimes present in sterile specimens, blue-grey, arranged in well-delimited soralia developing at the margin of the areoles. Cortex 10-30 µm thick, brownish in upper part, with a thin epinecral layer; algal layer discontinuous below the hypothecium; medulla white, I+ blue. Apothecia aspicilioid, 0.2-1.5 mm across, immersed, 1-2(-4) per areole, round to angular, with a concave to slightly convex, brown-red (when wet) or brown-black (when dry) disc, and a thin thalline margin. Proper exciple poorly developed, colourless, I+ blue; epithecium reddish brown to olive-brown, N-; hymenium colourless, 60-110 µm high, I+ blue; paraphyses branched and anastomosing in upper part, 2-2.5(-3) µm thick, the apical cells up to 4 µm wide, usually with a thin, dark brown cap; hypothecium colourless, 30-60 µm high, pale I+ blue. Asci 8-spored, clavate, approaching the Porpidia-type, with a less distinct tube structure. Ascospores 1-celled, hyaline, ellipsoid or slightly fusiform, 8-15(-23) x 6-8(-13) µm, the inner wall I+ blue, with a thin halonate epispore, often of different sizes and shapes within the same ascus. Pycnidia dark, immersed. Conidia bacilliform, 4-6 x 1-1.5 µm. Photobiont chlorococcoid. Spot tests: thallus K+ yellow rapidly turning red (needle-like crystals), C-, KC-, P+ golden yellow. Chemistry: norstictic acid.
Note: a mainly arctic-alpine, circumpolar lichen of hard, acid siliceous rocks wetted by rain near or above treeline; almost certainly restricted to the Alps in Italy.
Growth form: Crustose
Substrata: rocks
Photobiont: green algae other than Trentepohlia
Reproductive strategy: mainly sexual

Commonnes-rarity: (info)

Alpine belt: rather common
Subalpine belt: rare
Oromediterranean belt: absent
Montane belt: absent
Submediterranean belt: absent
Padanian area: absent
Humid submediterranean belt: absent
Humid mediterranean belt: absent
Dry mediterranean belt: absent

pH of the substrata:

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Solar irradiation:

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Aridity:

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Eutrophication:

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Poleotolerance:

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Altitudinal distribution:

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Predictive model
Herbarium samples

Walter Obermayer CC BY-SA 4.0 - Source: Lichens of Noricum - http://lichens-of-noricum.uni-graz.at/


Leif Stridvall - Source: http://www.stridvall.se/lichens/gallery/
Courtesy: Anita Stridvall


Leif Stridvall - Source: http://www.stridvall.se/lichens/gallery/
Courtesy: Anita Stridvall


Leif Stridvall - Source: http://www.stridvall.se/lichens/gallery/
Courtesy: Anita Stridvall



P.L. Nimis; Owner: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste
Herbarium: TSB (9456)
2001/11/22
wet thallus, apothecial disk reddish brown


Leif Stridvall - Source: http://www.stridvall.se/lichens/gallery/
Courtesy: Anita Stridvall



P.L. Nimis CC BY-SA 4.0
TSB 38539



P.L. Nimis CC BY-SA 04
TSB 38593


Walter Obermayer CC BY-SA 4.0 - Source: Lichens of Noricum - http://lichens-of-noricum.uni-graz.at/


Courtesy: Olivier et Danièle Gonnet - Source: https://www.afl-lichenologie.fr/Photos_AFL/Photos_AFL_B/Bellemerea_alpina.htm
France, Haute-Savoie 2010


Courtesy: Olivier et Danièle Gonnet - Source: https://www.afl-lichenologie.fr/Photos_AFL/Photos_AFL_B/Bellemerea_alpina.htm
France, Haute-Savoie 2010


Courtesy: Olivier et Danièle Gonnet - Source: https://www.afl-lichenologie.fr/Photos_AFL/Photos_AFL_B/Bellemerea_alpina.htm
France, Haute-Savoie 2010


Ulrich Kirschbaum CC BY-SA 4.0 - Source: https://www.thm.de/lse/ulrich-kirschbaum/flechtenbilder
Central Europe; Austria: Alps.