Mycotaxon 7: 46 (1978).

Basionym: Parmelia alpicola Th. Fr., Lich. Arct: 57 (1860).

Type locality: Norway, 0st-Finnmark, Varanger, Nyborg, pa Amtmandshougen, 1857 Th. Fries (UPS - lectotype, Esslinger 1977: 43).

Thallus: foliose, to 8 cm diam., forming rosettes or irregularly developed, often with several individuals growing together, closely adnate to the substrate, blackish brown to greyish black, sometimes pale to reddish to olive brown. Lobes 0.2—0.8(—l .5) mm wide, ?attened and often torulose (constricted at intervals) to convex and somewhat nodulose, margin crenulate, dull to somewhat shiny, especially towards the margin; lower surface black to brown at the lobe tips. Apothecia common, to c. 5 mm diam., margin smooth, rarely lobulate. Spores ellipsoid to subglobose, 7.5—l0 x 5-7 μ. Pycnidia common, immersed, visible as black dots on the thallus, conidia thickened at one end or bifusiform, c. 4.5-6 x 1 μ (Esslinger 1978).

Photobiont:

Chemistry: Alectorialic acid, 2 unknowns, TLC, samples from Alaska (Spribille 2010: 467). Cortex K—. Medulla C+ red, K+ yellowish, KC + red, PD + yellow, UV—; alectorialic and barbatolic acids (xxx).

Ecology: Saxicolous, growing on exposed siliceous rocks (basaltic in Iceland); especially on boulders in treeless tundra and mountain heaths (xxx).

Molecular data: Genbank

Distribution: Common in the arctic and alpine parts of the region, up to the upper zones, with scattered localities in the boreal zone south to central parts of Sweden and Finland. Database

Note: