Chaenotheca phaeocephala (Turner) Th. Fr.

A species characterised by a conspicuous squamulose to verruculose, grey-green to olive-brown thallus and relatively robust but low fruiting bodies covered by a yellow pruina. It is one of the species of the northern temperate zone (Tibell 1994). It grows on both tree bark and wood within its range, but varies regionally in substrate and habitat preferences. For example, in the Swedish boreal areas, the lichen often occurs on a worked conifer wood of old buildings (Tibell 1999) and in the Caucasus it may occur epiphytically on fir bark at relatively high elevations (Urbanavichus et al. 2020). In central Europe and in the Czech Republic, the lichen is found usually in deep furrows in bark of old oaks. It may grow on solitary trees, in avenues, parks and open forests. The species is sparsely distributed throughout the Czech Republic, from lowlands to foothills and occasionally to mountain areas. However, it is completely absent in many regions.

Literature: Tibell L. (1994): Distribution patterns and dispersal strategies of Caliciales. – Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 116: 159–202. Tibell L. (1999): Calicioid lichens and fungi. – Nordic Lichen Flora 1: 20–94. Urbanavichus G., Vondrák J., Urbanavichene I., Palice Z. & Malíček J. (2020): Lichens and allied non-lichenized fungi of virgin forests in the Caucasus State Nature Biosphere Reserve (Western Caucasus, Russia). – Herzogia 33: 90–138.

Ascomycota → Lichinomycetes → Coniocybales → Coniocybaceae → Chaenotheca