A common epiphytic species with a thin thallus and black, usually glossy apothecia with a conspicuous margin. From similar lichens, it differs in narrow spores and simple clavate paraphyses with a dark brown cap on the apical cell. It mainly grows on branches of deciduous trees (most often Fraxinus) and shrubs in open landscape, including eutrophicated stands (tree avenues, gardens), from lowlands to mountains. More rarely it is also recorded on wood and rocks. It is a widely distributed Holarctic species, occurring from the southern boreal zone to the Mediterranean in Europe. C. nigroclavata has been spreading during the last decades, probably due to the decline of acid rain. Surprisingly, there are only two historical records from the Czech Republic and they even come from atypical stands. Kuťák (1925) reported it on a plum tree snag wood near Česká Skalice and Servít on rocks near Klukovice in Prague. Currently, it is scattered to common over most of the Czech area.
Literatura: Kuťák V. (1925): Lišejníky z okolí České Skalice. – p. 75–78. Servít M. (1930): Flechten aus der Čechoslovakei. I. Die Umgebung von Praha. – Věstník Královské české společnosti nauk 1929/13: 1–50.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Lecanorales → Catillariaceae → Catillaria
All records: 189, confirmed 188. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).