A remarkable epiphytic lichen of beech forests. In the past, it was thought to be endemic to the Carpathians, but it is distributed also in the forested areas of the Alps and Caucasus. From the Czech Republic, it is known only from historical collections by J. Suza from the first half of the 20th century. The specimens were found in old-growth beech forests in five localities: in the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mountains (Radhošť, Kněhyně, Lysá hora) and in the Bílé Karpaty Mountains (Javořina, Velký Lopeník; Suza 1944). The prominent decline of this species could be caused by forest fragmentation and changes in their structure or by air pollution. For illustration, it had been reported from preserved beech forests of almost entire Slovakia in the past, and nowadays, it is known only from its eastern part, from the area of eastern Poloniny and the Vihorlat Mountains.
Literature: Suza J. (1944): O povaze výskytu a rozšíření některých epifytických lišejníků v Karpatech. − Věstník Královské české společnosti nauk 1943/12: 1−59.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Ostropales → Gyalectaceae → Gyalecta
most frequented synonyms:Belonia herculinaRed List (Liška & Palice 2010):RE – extinct
Red List (Malíček 2023):A – no recent data
Occurrence in the Czech Republic
All records: 1, confirmed 1. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).