An epiphytic crustose lichen, well recognisable in the fertile stage. It forms ochre-yellowish apothecia and conspicuous black pycnidia on a light grey, relatively thick, shiny thallus. If fruiting bodies are missing, the species may be easily identified chemically by the presence of atranorin and caperatic acid and also thanks to the pycnidia with light, wide-opening tops and walls turning purple in KOH (Ekman 1997, Gilbert & Fox 2009).
Cliostomum corrugatum is a typical temperate species of open old-growth forests and parks. It prefers rather a rough bark of old oaks. It is one of the important bioindicator lichens. Due to its long life-cycle and ecological link to old durable substrates, it is very rare nowadays. It has been recorded also on the worked timber of posts, fences, old buildings, etc. In the past, C. corrugatum used to be found relatively often on such substrates in the Czech Republic (Suza 1913, Kuťák 1927). In moist mountain forests of the Alps and the Caucasus, the species occurs on more tree species, for example, on silver firs (Nimis et al. 2018, Urbanavichus et al. 2020).
The species is currently absent in the Czech Republic. However, its re-discovery cannot be ruled out. In the past and especially at the beginning of the 20th century, it used to be reported mainly from lower and middle elevations. When being in pycnidial stage, the lichen may be easily overlooked or mistaken for other species.
Recently, a very similar boreal species C. piceicola has been described from the Russian taiga. It is known mainly from spruces and differs in thallus character and the presence of an unknown lichen chemical substance (Holien & Tønsberg 2017).
Literature: Suza J. (1913): První příspěvek k lichenologii Moravy. − Věstník Klubu přírodovědců v Prostějově 16: 5−31. Kuťák V. (1927): Třetí příspěvek ku květeně českých lišejníků. − Preslia 5: 36−51. Ekman S. (1997): The genus Cliostomum revisited. – Symbolae Botanicae Upsalienses 32/1: 17–28. Gilbert O. L. & Fox B. W. (2009): Cliostomum Fr. (1825). – In: Smith C. W., Aptroot A., Coppins B. J., Fletcher A., Gilbert O. L., James P. W. & Wolseley P. A. [eds], The Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland., p. 342–344, The British Lichen Society, London. Lättman H., Brand A., Hedlund J., Krikorev M., Olsson N., Robeck A., Rönnmark F. & Mattsson J.-E. (2009): Generation time estimated to be 25–30 years in Cliostomum corrugatum (Ach.) Fr. – Lichenologist 41: 557–559. Holien H. & Tønsberg T. (2017): Cliostomum piceicola, a new lichen species from oldgrowth coniferous forests in northern Europe. – Herzogia 30: 427–430. Nimis P. L., Hafellner J., Roux C., Clerc P., Mayrhofer H., Martellos S. & Bilovitz P. O. (2018): The lichens of the Alps – an annotated checklist. – Mycokeys 31: 1–634. 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.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Lecanorales → Ramalinaceae → Cliostomum
All records: 5, confirmed 1. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).