A terricolous cyanolichen with a granular, sometimes slightly squamulous, (blue-)grey thallus, resembling the unrelated species Gregorella humida, from which it differs in the sterile stage in the missing compact cortex on the thallus granules. Leptogium byssinum is also a similar lichen when sterile. The species was reported relatively frequently from the Czech Republic in the past, usually under the name Pannaria nebulosa (see The Catalogue by Vězda & Liška 1999). However, it was sometimes confused with its distant relative Protopannaria pezizoides (Vondrák et al. 2013). Until recently, Fuscopannaria nebulosa has been included in the monotypic genus Moelleropsis, but phylogenetically it falls within the broad genus Fuscopannaria (Ekman & Jørgensen 2002, Ekman et al. 2014).
This pioneer species grows on recently exposed, both acidic and basic well-drained sandy soils rich in minerals and humus. It is often found in the company of mosses, which it may overgrow. The lichen is known mainly from traditionally managed landscapes, but also from natural open woodlands. Most frequently, it has been recorded in anthropogenetic habitats, such as roadsides, railway cuttings, quarries, etc. Most of the records from the Czech Republic date back to the first decades of the 20th century. At that time, F. nebulosa was probably relatively common in the Czech landscape. Compared to the past, the lichen has receded significantly, probably due to the excessive environment acidification at the end of the last century. Currently, the species is considered extinct in the country. It was last recorded, after a long time, in 1995 in Povydří in Šumava. Its potential recolonisation is now being complicated by strong eutrophication in most of the country.
Literature: Ekman S. & Jørgensen P.M. (2002): Towards a molecular phylogeny for the lichen family Pannariaceae (Lecanorales, Ascomycota). – Canadian Journal of Botany 80: 625–634. Vondrák J., Palice Z., Mareš J. & Kocourková J. (2013): Two superficially similar lichen crusts, Gregorella humida and Moelleropsis nebulosa, and a description of the new lichenicolous fungus Llimoniella gregorellae. – Herzogia 26: 31–48. Ekman S., Wedin M., Lindblom L. & Jørgensen P. M. (2014): Extended phylogeny and a revised generic classification of the Pannariaceae (Peltigerales, Ascomycota). – Lichenologist 46: 627–656.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Peltigerales → Pannariaceae → Fuscopannaria
most frequented synonyms:Moelleropsis nebulosaAll records: 32, confirmed 29. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).