Opegrapha-rupestris_1b

Description:

Opegrapha rupestris Pers., syn: Opegrapha persoonii (Ach.) Chev., Opegrapha parasitica auct.EN: ?Slo.: ?Dat.: Feb. 22. 2009Lat.: 46.31803 Long.: 13.55166Code: Bot_323/2009_DSC6432 Picture file names: from Opegrapha-rupestris_raw_1 to Opegrapha-rupestris_raw_5.Habitat: rocks of a dirt road scarp; humid and shady place; mixed forest and grassland around, no insolation during winter months; often wet place; north aspect; about 1.5 mm above the road level; exposed to direct rain; precipitations ~3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, elevation 400 m (1.300 feet), alpine phytogeographical region.Substratum: on Gyalecta sp. lichen; vertical, hard, calcareous rock surface. Place: Bovec basin, southeast of village ezsoa, dirt road side leading to former ski lifts, East Julian Alps, Posoje, Slovenia EC.Comment: Substratum, habitat and habit correspond well to Opegrapha rupestris. It is the only lichen of this genus which grows on calcareous rock in most cases parasitizing other crustose lichens, usually a species of Verrucariaceae, but also other lichens. Backwards analysis (backwards because of the lack of microscopic data) of the keys published in Ref.: 1, 3 and 4 show no conflicts. Ref.: 5 states several finds of Opegrapha rupestris in Slovenia, however, no finds are included in Boletus Informaticus Database (Ref.: 6). Unfortunately no chemical test and microscopy have been done. Therefore the determination remains questionable. Ref.:(1) C.W. Smith, et all, The lichens of Great Britain and Ireland, The British Lichen Society, (2009), p 643.(2) I.M. Brodo, S.D. Sharnoff, S. Sharnoff, Lichens of North America, Yale Uni. Press (2001), p 472.(3) V. Wirth, Die Flechten Baden-Wrttembergs, Teil.2., Ulmer (1995), p 627.(4) F.S. Dobson, Lichens, The Richmonds Publishing Ca. LTD (2005), p 295.(5) Prgger et all. 'Alphabetical list of lichenized fungi for the six phytogeographical regions of Slovenia', members.chello.at/johannes.pruegger/uni/slovenia/ (accessed Jan.5.2018)(6) Boletus Informaticus Database, Forestry Institute of Slovenia www.zdravgozd.si/bi_index.aspx (accessed Jan. 5. 2018)