Almost unmistakable lichen, characterized by tiny green thallus with flattened round apothecia, dark veins and formless cephalodia on the underside. Its usual habitat is bare soil, particularly on calcareous substrates. Ecologically, it is an r-strategist. Peltigera venosa is boreal-montane to arctic-alpine species, widespread in the northern hemisphere. In central Europe, it is more common only in the Alps. In the Czech Republic, it is one of the rarest lichens being known only from a few microlocalities in the Velká kotlina glacial cirque in the Hrubý Jeseník Mts. However, in the past, this species was relatively common even at lower elevations. Many of the records come, for example, from the surroundings of Brno and the adjacent part of the Českomoravská vysočina Highlands. It was repeatedly collected in Prague, too. It drastically declined mainly during the second half of the 20th century, probably due to acid rain in combination with the intensification of landscape management.
Literature: Liška J., Dětinský R. & Palice Z. (1998): A project on distribution changes of lichens in the Czech Republic. – Sauteria 9: 351–360.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Peltigerales → Peltigeraceae → Peltigera
Red List (Liška & Palice 2010):CR – critically endangered
Red List (Malíček 2023):C1 – critically endangered
Occurrence in the Czech Republic
All records: 102, confirmed 99. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).