ASCOMYCOTA | LECANOROMYCETES > LECANORALES > Parmeliaceae

Common name:             Crinkled Snow Lichen

Synonym:                      Cetraria nivalis

Habitat:                         Montane and high-elevation uplands

Substrata:                     Soil

Growth form:                Terricolous

Thallus:                  Foliose

Apothecia:                    Lecanorine, but rare

BLS identity rating:        N/A

Anatomically foliose, but often described as fruticose; thallus shrub-like, forming loose tufts, up to 5cm tall, lobes long, branched, deeply incised and pitted, typically creamy yellowish-green; apothecia rare.

In Britain, only found in a few ericaceous heathland sites at high altitudes in the Scottish Highlands. In Austria, where the following photos were taken, it is listed as an arctic-alpine species and regarded as a typical element of tundra-like vegetation of open, dry habitats above the treeline; widespread throughout the Alps.