A lichen with a pale to dark grey crustose thallus that produces miriquidic acid and was in the Czech Republic often misreported in the past under the name M. griseoatra. It differs from M. griseoatra mainly in having a colourless hypothecium and smaller ascospores (approximately 10–13 × 5–6 µm versus 14–16 × 4.5–6 µm).
Miriquidica subplumbea grows primarily on exposed, acidic siliceous rocks under cool conditions—windy, well-lit microhabitats that are often wetted by rain. It may temporarily overgrow other crustose lichens, but it is not tied to any particular “host” species and gradually develops into a fully independent thallus. It is a widely distributed boreo-montane species in Eurasia and North America; in Central Europe it is reported mainly from the lower alpine belt. In the Czech Republic the lichen is abundant in the highest parts of the Krkonoše Mountains and is also known from the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains.
Literature: Hafellner J., Obermayer W. & Tretiach M. (2014): Miriquidica invadens, an obligate youth parasite on Sporastatia, with remarks and a key to species of the M. griseoatra group. – Lichenologist 46: 303–331. /// Malíček J. & Steinová J. (2025): Contribution to lichen biota of the Krkonoše Mountains, the highest Czech mountain range. – Herzogia 38: 308–335.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Lecanorales → Lecanoraceae → Miriquidica
Occurrence in the Czech Republic
All records: 10, confirmed 9. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).