A mountain, arctic-boreal crustose lichen of rather open siliceous rock outcrops and boulder screes. It typically occurs in open, relatively inhospitable habitats with (“wind-wiped”) exposed rocks or boulders, but its presence in rather protected places is not exceptional. Its blood-red apothecia make it one of the easiest Czech crustose rock lichens to identify in the field. However, Ophioparma ventosa is not always that conspicuous as it often occurs also sterile in a mosaic with other crustose lichens an may escape the attention then. Therefore, it may still be awaiting its discovery in some areas. There in a number of its localities known in the Czech Republic, mainly at higher elevations (the Krkonoše Mts, Jizerké hory Mts, Krušné hory Mts, Kralický Sněžník Mts, Jeseníky Mts, Šumava Mts; Vězda & Liška 1999). Recently, the species was found at surprisingly low elevation (516 asl.) on acidic vulcanites in screes on the Ralsko Hill (Malíček & Vondrák 2018).
Literature: Vězda A. & Liška J. (1999): Katalog lišejníků České republiky. – Institute of Botany, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Průhonice. Malíček J. & Vondrák J. (2018): Lišejníky chráněných území Ralsko a Vranovské skály (severní Čechy). – Bryonora 62: 1–23.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Umbilicariales → Ophioparmaceae → Ophioparma
Red List (Liška & Palice 2010):VU – vulnerable
Red List (Malíček 2023):C3 – endangered
Occurrence in the Czech Republic
All records: 15, confirmed 11. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).