A terricolous cyanolichen with a dark granulose to squamulose thallus and impressed apothecia. It grows mostly on calcareous soil in steppe communities, dry grasslands and even in quarries. In the northern and central Europe, it is a typical steppe element of rather dry, continental areas. More widespread it is in the Mediterranean. There is only a single recent unpublished record from the Czech Republic, from the Pálava Hills near Mikulov. In the past, the species was not distinguished from the similar H. adglutinata, thus a part of the old data may, in fact, refer to H. lutosa. Historical reports come mostly from southern Moravia, where it used to occur on loess and other more or less calcareous soils in xerothermic habitats. It was collected also in central Bohemia (Suza 1925). The lichen has almost disappeared, probably in reaction to changes in land management, a lack of regular soil disturbances and a destruction of suitable habitats.
Literature: Suza J. (1925): Nástin zeměpisného rozšíření lišejníků na Moravě vzhledem k poměrům evropským. – Spisy vydávané Přírodovědeckou fakultou Masarykovy Univerzity 55: 1–151. Jørgensen P. M. (2007): Heppiaceae. – Nordic Lichen Flora 3: 43–45.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lichinomycetes → Lichinales → Lichinaceae → Heppia
All records: 5, confirmed 2. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).