Due to the presence of norstictic acid in the thallus, this species can be confused, for example, with Aspiciliella intermutans or Aspicilia cinerea, from which it differs, for example, in its thicker thallus with a tendency to form broad isidiate outgrowths. If fertile, it forms characteristically small spores.
This lichen has recently been described from North America and subsequently found in the Pyrenees (Roux 2011). In the Czech Republic, it was first found in Týřov in the Křivoklát region, where it forms extensive but sterile thalli on sunny andesite rocks (Vondrák et al. 2022). A. brucei is now known also fertile from basalt rocks below the ruins of Košt'álov Castle in the České středohoří Highlands and from another locality in the Křivoklát region, Čertova skála.
Literature: Roux C., Nordin A., Tibell L. & Sohrabi M. (2011): Quelques espèces d'Aspicilia peu connues ou nouvelles des Pyrénées-Orientales (France). – Bulletin de la Société Linnéenne de Provence, n° spécial 14: 177–227. Vondrák J. et al. (2022): From Cinderella to Princess: an exceptional hotspot of lichen diversity in a long-inhabited central-European landscape. – Preslia 94: 143–181.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Pertusariales → Megasporaceae → Aspicilia
Red List (Malíček 2023):DD – data deficient
Occurrence in the Czech Republic
All records: 4, confirmed 4. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).