Varicellaria lactea has a thick areolate pale grey thallus, often delimited by a white prothallus and convex soralia containing lecanoric acid (C+ red).
It grows on acidic to slightly basic siliceous and volcanic rocks. It prefers natural outcrops with humid microclimate, not directly exposed to sun but not completely shaded either. In central Europe and in the Czech Republic, it is scattered to locally abundant from the lowlands to the mountains.
taxonomic classification:Ascomycota → Lecanoromycetes → Pertusariales → Ochrolechiaceae → Varicellaria
most frequented synonyms:Pertusaria lacteaRed List (Liška & Palice 2010):NT – near threatened
Occurrence in the Czech Republic
All records: 175, confirmed 95. One click on a selected square displays particular record(s), including their source(s).