HACQUETIA 10/1 • 2011, 95-112 DOI: 10.2478/v10028-011-0005-7 DISTRIBUTION OF LETHARIA VULPINA (LICHENIZED ASCOMYCETES) IN THE SUBALPINE LARCH STANDS (RHODOTHAMNO-LARICETUM) in THE EASTERN JULIAN ALPS (SLOVENIA) Igor DAKSKOBLER1, Andrej SELIŠKAR2 & Franc BATIČ^ Abstract The article provides the list of localities of Letharia vulpina in the eastern Julian Alps (northwestern Slovenia) that were recorded by the authors in 2010. Prior to this year the knowledge on the occurence of this lichenized fungus in Slovenia was insignificant (only one known locality, recorded already in the 19th century). With a phytosociological table we present the species composition and structure of natural subalpine larch stands (Rhodothamno-Laricetum deciduae) in which the species Letharia vulpina grows as an epiphyte on old and thick trees. It can also be expected in other Alpine regions in Slovenia where similar natural larch stands are preserved and the air is not over polluted. Key words: Letharia vulpina, Larix decidua, Rhodothamno-Laricetum, subalpine forests, biodiversity, the Julian Alps, Slovenia. Izvleček Članek podaja seznam nahajališč vrste Letharia vulpina v vzhodnih Julijskih Alpah (severozahodna Slovenija), ki so jih avtorji popisali v letu 2010. Pred tem letom je bila vednost o pojavljanju te lihenizirane glive v Sloveniji zelo majhna (eno samo znano nahajališče, opaženo že v 19. stoletju). S fitocenološko tabelo prikazujemo vrstno sestavo in zgradbo naravnih subalpinskih macesnovih sestojev (Rhodothamno-Laricetum deciduae) v katerih vrsta Letharia vulpina raste kot epifit na starih in debelih drevesih. Pričakujemo jo lahko tudi v drugih alpskih območjih v Sloveniji, kjer so ohranjeni podobni naravni macesnovi sestoji in kjer ozračje ni preveč onesnaženo. Ključne besede: Letharia vulpina, Larix decidua, Rhodothamno-Laricetum, subalpinski gozdovi, biodiverziteta, Julijske Alpe, Slovenija. 1. INTRODUCTION tp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letharia_vulpina). It usually grows on tree trunks and branches of Letharia vulpina is a fruticose lichenized fungus conifers, in central and southern Europe and in from the family Parmeliaceae. Its distribution the mountains surrounding the Mediterranean, area comprises Europe (Scandinavia, the Alps especially on Larix decidua, Pinus cembra (on this and other central- and south-European moun- two tree species for example in Switzerland, there tains), North Africa, Asia Minor, Cyprus, Cau- only in the Alps - Bolliger & al. 2007: 287, in the casus and boreal part of North America (Schade Italian Alps - Nascimbene & al. 2008, in Upper 1954: 122, Gams 1955: 30, Mayrhofer, in litt., ht- Austria, also there only in the Alps - Berger & al. 1 Institute of Biology, Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Regional unit Tolmin, Brunov drevored 13, SI-5220 Tolmin, Igor.Dakskobler@zrc-sazu.si 2 Institute of Biology, Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Novi trg 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, ase@siol.com 3 Biotechnical Faculty of the University in Ljubljana, Department of Agronomy, Jamnikarjeva ulica 111, SI-1000 Ljubljana, franc.batic@bf.uni-lj.si 2009: 150 and in Carinthia -Türk & al. 2004: 70: very rare in eastern edges of the Alps, with one new locality, 9156/1, published in Hafellner 2008: 72), Pinus peuce (on the latter see data for Montenegro - Medjedovic 1971, Bilovitz & al. 2008: 22, B. Surina, in litt., H. Mayrhofer, in litt.), Pinus pinaster, Juniperus excelsa and Cedrus atlantica. Traditionally it was used as a pigment source for dyes and paints and in folk medicine for relieving digestive problems as a highly diluted infusion. It was also used to hunt foxes and wolves with a mixture of meat, lichens and broken glass. It is toxic to carnivores. The knowledge of its occurrence in Slovenia until 2010 was insignificant. Schade (1954: 121) published the information on its growth on a larch tree near Belo (=Velo) polje - 9649/1, UTM 33T VM13 (where it was supposedly collected in 1876 by E. H. from Innsbruck and where it most likely still grows today, as it was found on 14.10. 2010 above the nearby alp Planina Pod Mišelj vrhom). The same information is quoted also in the Catalogue of the lichen-ized and lichenicolous fungi of Slovenia (Suppan & al. 2000: 81). Later processing of lichens of the Julian Alps (Batič & al. 2003, Mrak & al. 2004) did not produce any new findings as this species was not even recorded at the time, with the research being limited to the lower-lying forests. In our research of natural larch forests in Slovenia (Dakskobler & al. 2010) it was first noticed at the end of August 2010 above the Mala Pišnica valley and was subsequently recorded on several other localities in the eastern part of the Julian Alps. This article presents these localities and forest stands with larch trees on which this epiphytic lichen grows. 2. METHODS Vegetation in natural larch stands in the Julian Alps was studied according to the central-European method (Braun-Blanquet 1964). The releves were entered into the FloVegSi database (Seliškar & al. 2003). The same application was used to make the distribution map (Figure 1). Figure 1: Distribution of Letharia vulpina in Slovenia and in the neighbouring regions (= bordering grids) of Carinthia (Türk & al. 2004: 70) Slika 1: Razširjenost vrste Letharia vulpina v Sloveniji in v sosednjih območjih (mejnih poljih) Koroške (Türk & al. 2004: 70) '■ampofiisso'^®' Malcai^le/ Figure 2: Localities of Letharia vulpina in the eastern part of the Julian Alps Slika 2: Nahajališča vrste Letharia vulpina v vzhodnem delu Julijskih Alp The releves in Table 1 were arranged with hierarchical classification. Combined cover-abundance values were transformed with numerical values (1-9) according to van der Maarel (1979) and numerical comparisons were performed with the SYN-TAX 2000 (Podani 2001) program package. Releves were compared with the "Incremental sum of squares - MISSQ" method and with "(unweighted) average linkage method - UPGMA". In both methods we applied Wishart's coefficient of similarity (similarity ratio). The nomenclature source for the names of vascular plants is the Mala flora Slovenije (Martinčič & al. 2007), Frahm & Frey (1992) and Martinčič (2003) for the names of mosses, Jurc & al. (2005) for the names of fungi and Suppan & al. (2000) for the names of lichens. Table 1 comprises only some of the mosses, lichens and fungi that were observed on sample plots. Most species from these groups remained unidentified. Determined epiphytes in the table 1 are indicated with x, which means, that they were presented on the recorded plots. 3. RESULTS 3.1 Overview of the recorded localities of Letharia vulpina in the Julian Alps 9548/3 (UTM 33TVM04): Slovenia, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola), the Julian Alps, Mala Pišnica valley, under Robičje, along the hunting path, a prominence overgrown with single old larch and beech trees, dominated by Pinus mugo groups (possibly burnt down in the past), 1450 m a.s.l., on an old larch tree with the breast height diameter of around 70 cm. Leg. & det. I. Dakskobler, 26. 8. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA) and Boletus informaticus (Herbarium of the Slovenian Forestry Institute); under Robičje, a steep slope above the Mala Pišnica valley, Pinus mugo stand, an old larch tree on the margin (breast height diameter 100 cm), 1480 m a.s.l. Leg. & det. I. Dakskobler, 28. 8. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA). Figure 3: Letharia vulpina, Brinova glava, the Julian Alps (Photo A. Seliškar) Slika 3: Letharia vulpina, Brinova glava, Julijske Alpe (foto A. Seliškar) 9548/3 (UTM 33TVM04): Slovenia, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola), the Julian Alps, Sleme, slopes under Slemenova špica, above the Mala Pišnica valley, near the Sleme-Grlo mountain path, open larch forest, from about 1570 to 1760 m a.s.l., on some 20 old larch trees with breast height diameters of 50 to 100 cm. Leg. & det. I. Dakskobler & A. Seliškar, 1. 9. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA). 9549/3 (UTM 33TVM14): Slovenia, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola), the Julian Alps, the Vrata valley, under the ridge of Vrtaško Sleme, larch forest, on three old larch trees, the thickest tree's breast height diameter is 90 cm. Leg. & det. I. Dakskobler & A. Seliškar, 2. 9. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA) and Boletus informaticus. 9549/3 (UTM 33TVM14): Slovenia, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola), the Julian Alps, Požgana Mlinarica, the ridge between the Vrata and the Kot valleys, open larch forest at the contact with Pi- nus mugo stands, 1800 m a.s.l., on two old larch trees with the breast height diameters of 87 and 55 cm; a little lower on the same locality, slopes above the Vrata valley, 1760 m a.s.l., open larch forest, on an old larch tree with a breast height diameter of 73 cm. Leg. & det. I. Dakskobler & A. Seliškar, 14. 9. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA). 9549/3 (UTM 33TVM13): Slovenia, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola), the Julian Alps, Požgana Mlinarica, slopes above the Vrata valley, 1760 m a.s.l., old larch tree with a breast height diameter of 82 cm, tree height of some 15 m, dry top, also fruitbody (sporocarp) of fungus Laricifomes officinalis. Leg. & det. I. Dakskobler & A. Seliškar, 14. 9. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA). 9549/3 (UTM 33TVM14): Slovenia, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola), the Julian Alps, the Vrata valley, Brinova glava, open spruce and larch forest, on an old larch tree with a breast height diameter of some 60 cm, also higher, above Brinova glava, Na brinju under the peak Šplevta, at the altitude of 1650 m a.s.l., on three old larch trees and on five larch trees at the altitude of 1740 m. Leg. & det. I. Dakskobler & A. Seliškar, 21. 9. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA). 9549/3 (UTM 33TVM14): Slovenia, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola), the Julian Alps, the Vrata valley, Prag under the peak Šplevta, larch forest, 1670 m a.s.l., on two larch trees and slightly lower at the altitude of 1640 m on larch tree with breast height diameter of 60 cm. Leg. & det. I. Dakskobler & A. Seliškar, 21. 9. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA). 9649/2 (UTM 33TVM13): Slovenia, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola), the Julian Alps, the Pokljuka plateau, alp Klek, larch stands above the pasture, near the mountain path to Debela peč, from 1570 to 1670 m a.s.l., on at least 20 larch trees, with breast height diameters of 40 to 80 cm. Leg. & det. F. Batič, I. Dakskobler, A. Seliškar, B. Vreš, L. Kutnar and A. Rozman, 28. 9. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA) and Boletus infor-maticus. 9649/3 (UTM 33TVM13): Slovenia, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola), the Julian Alps, alp Krsteni-ca, larch forest on the northern summit slope of Krsteniški (Mali) Stog above the Voje valley, 1820 m a.s.l., on a larch tree with breast height diameter of about 50 cm; also lower on the slopes above the Voje valley, 1740 m a.s.l., on a very old larch tree (on which was also the fruitbody of fungus Laricifomes officinalis), with a breast height diameter of around 80 cm. Leg. & det. I. Dakskobler, 22. 9. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA). 9649/3 (UTM 33TVM13): Slovenia, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola), the Julian Alps, pasture Krstenica, a larch forest on the western slope of Krsteniški (Mali) Stog, under the mountain path, 1660 m a.s.l., on six larch trees with breast height diameters of 50 to 90 cm; also higher, 1730 m a.s.l., in Pinus mugo stands with larch, on a larch tree with a breast height diameter of 70 cm. Leg. & det. I. Dakskobler, 22. 9. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA). 9649/3 (UTM 33TVM13): Slovenia, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola), the Julian Alps, the slopes of Jezerski Stog above the alp Planina pod Mišelj Figure 4: Subalpine larch stand above the pasture Klek, typical locality of Letharia vulpina (Photo A. Seliškar) Slika 4: Subalpinski macesnov sestoj nad planino Klek, tipično nahajališče vrste Letharia vulpina (foto A. Seliškar) vrhom, along the mountain path from Jezerski preval towards this alp, open larch stands at the altitude from 1720 to 1820 m, on some 15 larch trees with breast height diameters from 50 to 90 cm, also the fruitbody (sporocarp) of fungus Laricifomes officinalis. Leg. & det. I. Dakskobler, 14. 10. 2010, Herbarium ZRC SAZU (SRC SASA). 3.2 Phytosociological description of larch stands where Letharia vulpina was recorded (Table 1) Letharia vulpina was found in natural larch stands in the Mala Pišnica and Vrata valleys above the alp Klek on the Pokljuka plateau and in the northeastern part of the Fužina pasturelands (Fužinske planine), also on the slopes towards Velo polje. The climate in this part of the Julian Alps is mon- tane and very cold, with a mean annual temperature from 2 °C to 4 °C (Pristov & al. 1998: 13), and moist (humid), with a mean annual precipitation ranging from 2400 to 3200 mm (slightly more in the Fužina pasturelands and in the northern part of the Pokljuka plateau than in the Upper Sava Valley) - Pristov et al. (1998: 26). The snow cover remains on the ground for more than 200 days a year (Pristov & al., ibid, p. 39). Letharia vulpina has intermediate air pollution sensitivity. Air pollution in the Upper Sava Valley, however, is considerable (Batič & al. 2003), with lateral valleys (Mala Pišnica, Vrata, Kot) perhaps being slightly less exposed to pollution. The same is probably true for the northern part of the Pokljuka plateau and northeastern part of the Fužina pasturelands and Velo polje under Triglav. Most of the recorded stands (releves 4 to 17 in Table 1) are classified into the syntaxon Rho-dothamno-Laricetum Willner et Zukrigl 1999 var. geogr. Anemone trifolia Dakskobler 2006 (compare Dakskobler 2006 and Zupančič & Žagar 2007), in which we distinguish between two variants. The stands on drier soils (releves 4 to 10 in Table 1) are classified into the variant with Ca-lamagrostis varia (one of the differential species is also Erica carnea) and the stands on moister soils (releves 11 to 17) are classified into the variant with Aconitum lycoctonum subsp. ranunculi-folium (differential species are also Poa alpina, Alnus viridis and Saxifraga aizoides). Releve No. 1 in Table 1 is classified also into the syntaxon Rhododendro hirsuti-Pinetum prostratae Zöttl 1951 laricetosum Tregubov 1962 = Rhodothamno-Rhodo-dendretum hirsuti (Aichinger 1933) Br.-Bl. & Sis-singh and Br.-Bl. & al. 1939 var. geogr. Paederota lutea Zupančič & Žagar in Zupančič et al. 2006 laricetosum Tregubov 1962, and the two stands in releves 2 and 3 indicate the contact of larch and Alpine beech forest (Anemono-Fagetum Tregubov 1962 laricetosum Tregubov 1962 or Rhodothamno-Laricetum fagetosum nom. prov.). Letharia vulpina was found on old and usually thick larch trees (see Nascimbene & al. 2008 for influence of tree age and structure on frequency of this epiphytic lichen species) that grow at the altitude ranging from 1450 to 1820 m, i.e. in the subalpine belt almost up to the upper larch forest distribution borderline in the Julian Alps (which is at the altitude 1900 to 1950 m). Larch trees grew on gentle to very steep slopes (slope of 10° to 40°), on all expositions - on both explicitly shady (N, NE) as well as on explicitly sunny slopes (S, SW). Geological bedrock is most often limestone admixed with dolomite, more rarely limestone, limestone admixed with marlstone or talus scree. The soil is shallow, moder rendzina. The studied forest stands are protective and have not undergone cut (forest plant) in a long time (although we noticed old, decaying tree stumps in some). Sheep and cattle have been grazing in some places (alp Klek, the Fužina pasturelands, Velo polje). On some of these localities (Požgana Mlinarica, Robičje) primary forest may have been burnt down once, perhaps with the intention to obtain more pasture areas for sheep. For at least 60 years and more the growth and development of these stands have been affected mainly by only natural factors (wind, avalanches, rockfalls). Other lichens that grow as epiphytes together with Letharia vulpina on larch bark were not recorded in more detail. Frequent species are Bryoriafusces-cens, Usnea subfloridana, Usnea spp., Ramalina farinacea, Evernia prunastri, E. divaricata, Vulpi-cida pinastri, Hypogymnia physodes, H. farinacea, H. tubulosa, Pseudevernia furfuracea, Platismatia glauca, Parmelia saxatilis, P. sulcata, Parmeliopsis ambigua, Parmeliopsis hyperopta, Hypocenomyce scalaris, Chrysothrix candelaris, Chaenotheca spp., Ochrolechia spp., Lepraria spp., Lecanorapulicaris, Cladonia digitata, Cladonia spp. 4. DISCUSSION Wirth (1991: 231, 2010: 242) provides the following ecological description for Letharia vulpina. It is semi-heliophilous, distributed mainly in the altimontane and subalpine belt, in intermediate (suboceanic to subcontinental) climate with sufficient precipitation, but very unstable moisture conditions; it grows as an epiphyte on very acid and nutrient poor substrate, tree bark. Its life form is a fruticose and strap shaped lichen (Strauchflechte). This ecological description fully applies also to its localities and sites in the Julian Alps. In these locations it is, similarly to a very rare fungus Laricifomes officinalis, an indicator of natural larch forests on the upper forest line. One of the epiphytic lichen species that could be considered a character species of natural larch stands is also the crustose species Mycoblastus sanguinarius which was, in addition to Letharia vulpina, found in large numbers on larch trees above the alp Klek. Not much attention was paid to epiphytic lichen flora during our phytosociological research until recently, so it is very likely that Letharia vulpina was overlooked in our releves in more places than one, which is especially true for the less conspicuous bark species. Nevertheless, this lichen no longer grows on every site with old larch trees and natural larch stands. This can be confirmed for larch stands on the northwestern edge of the Komna plateau, above the alps Planina za Skalo and Planina za Črnim vrhom above Vrsnik (Soča) and for similar stands above the alp Planina v Plazeh and under Čisti vrh and Velika Tičarica (above the Lower Trenta valley). Even though there are old and thick larch trees growing in the listed areas, we noticed no Letharia vulpina on their bark. The reason might be the (over)polluted air brought by the west winds from the industrial flatlands of Friuli and the Po Valley. It would by all means be sensible to pay more attention to Letharia vulpina in the future, as well as to the communities (synu-sia) in which it grows and to epiphytes on larch trees, especially crustose species in their natural stands on the timberline in general. 5. POVZETEK Razširjenost lihenizirane glive Letharia vulpina v subalpinskih macesnovih sestojih (Rhodo-thamno-Laricetum) v vzhodnih Julijskih Alpah (Slovenija) Letharia vulpina je grmičast lišaj, natančneje lihenizirana gliva iz družine Parmeliaceae. Zanjo predlagamo slovensko ime navadni lisičji lišaj. Njen areal obsega Evropo (Skandinavija, Alpe in druga srednje- in južnoevropska gorovja), severno Afriko, Malo Azijo, Ciper, Kavkaz in bore-alni del Severne Amerike. Navadno uspeva na deblih in vejicah iglastih drevesnih vrst, v srednji in južni Evropi ter v gorovjih, ki obdajajo Sredozemlje predvsem na vrstah Larix decidua, Pinus cembra, Pinus peuce, Pinus pinaster, Juniperus ex-celsa in Cedrus atlantica. V preteklosti so navadni lisičji lišaj precej uporabljali za pridobivanje barvila, v ljudskem zdravilstvu za lajšanje prebavnih težav kot zelo razredčen poparek, nekdaj tudi za lov lisic in volkov z mešanico mesa, lišaja in zdrobljenega stekla. Za mesojede živali je strupen. Vednost o pojavljanju vrste Letharia vulpina v Sloveniji je bila do leta 2010 zelo majhna. Schade (1954: 121) je objavil podatek o njenem uspevanju na macesnu pri Belem (=Velem) polju - 9649/1, UTM 33T VM13 (kjer naj bi jo leta 1876 nabral E. H. iz Innsbrucka in kjer zelo verjetno uspeva še zdaj, saj smo jo 14. 10. 2010 našli nad bližnjo planino Pod Mišelj vrhom). Ta podatek povzema tudi Katalog liheniziranih in lihenikolnih gliv Slovenije (Suppan & al. 2000: 81). Tudi poznejša obdelava lišajev Julijskih Alp (Batič & al. 2003, Mrak & al. 2004) ni prinesla novih spoznanj, saj te vrste takrat niso popisali, ker so bile raziskave omejene na nižje ležeče gozdove. Pri naših raziskavah naravnih macesnovih gozdov v Sloveniji (Dakskobler & al. 2010) smo jo prvič opazili konec avgusta 2010 nad dolino Male Pišnice in jo potem popisali še na precej nahajališčih v vzhodnem delu Julijskih Alp, nad dolino Vrat, nad planino Klek na Pokljuki in v Fužinskih planinah (Krstenica, pod Krsteniškim in Jezerskim Stogom). Večina njenih nahajališč je v macesnovi združbi Rhodothamno-Laricetum Willner et Zukrigl 1999, nekaj pa tudi v ruševju z macesnom Rhododendro hirsuti-Pinetum prostratae Zöttl 1951 laricetosum Tregubov 1962 = Rhodoth-amno-Rhododendretum hirsuti (Aichinger 1933) Br.-Bl. & Sissingh in Br.-Bl. & al. 1939 laricetosum Tregubov 1962 in v alpskem bukovju z macesnom (Anemono-Fagetum Tregubov 1962 laricetosum Tregubov 1962). Našli smo jo na starih in navadno debelih macesnih, ki uspevajo na nadmorski višini od 1450 do 1820 m, torej v subalpinskem pasu skoraj do zgornje meje razširjenosti maces-novega gozda v Julijskih Alpah, ki je na nadmorski višini 1900 do 1950 m. Macesni so rasli na položnih do zelo strmih pobočjih (naklon od 10° do 40°), v vseh legah, tako na izrazito osojnih (N, NE), kot tudi na izrazito prisojnih (S, SW). Geološka podlaga je največkrat dolomitiziran apnenec, redkeje apnenec, apnenec s primesjo laporovca ali pobočni grušč. Tla so plitva, prhni-nasta rendzina. Preučeni gozdni sestoji so varovalni, sečenj v njih že dolgo ni (le v nekaterih smo opazili stare razpadajoče panje). Ponekod (pl. Klek, Fužinske planine, Velo polje) v njih pasejo drobnico in govedo. Na nekaj nahajališčih (Požgana Mlinarica, Robičje) je bil primarni gozd nekoč morda požgan z namenom pridobiti pašne površine za drobnico. Na rast in razvoj teh sestojev že najmanj 60 let in več v glavnem vplivajo le naravni dejavniki (veter, snežni plazovi, po-dori). Drugih lišajev, ki epifitsko rastejo skupaj z vrsto Letharia vulpina na macesnovi skorji, nismo podrobneje popisovali. Pogoste so vrste Bryoria fuscescens, Usnea subfloridana, Usnea spp., Rama-linafarinacea, Everniaprunastri, E. divaricata, Vul-picida pinastri, Hypogymnia physodes, H. farinacea, H. tubulosa, Pseudevernia furfuracea, Platismatia glauca, Parmelia saxatilis, P. sulcata, Parmeliopsis ambigua, Parmeliopsis hyperopta, Hypocenomyce scalaris, Chrysothrix candelaris, Chaenotheca spp., Ochrolechia spp., Lepraria spp., Lecanorapulicaris, Cladonia digitata, Cladonia spp. V Julijskih Alpah je lihenizirana gliva Letharia vulpina, podobno kot zelo redka gliva lekarniška macesnovka (Lar-icifomes officinalis), pokazatelj naravnih maces-novih gozdov na zgornji gozdni meji. V prihodnosti bo smiselno večjo pozornost posvetiti tudi njenim sinuzijam in sploh epifitom na macesnu v njegovih naravnih gozdovih. 6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research was conducted within the target research project Natural larch stands in Slovenia (V4-0542), funded by the Slovenian Research Agency and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food. Sincere thanks to Prof. Dr. Helmut Mayrhofer and associate Professor Dr. Boštjan Surina for the copies of additional references, information on the localities of Letharia alpina in Montenegro, other advice and valuable corrections and supplements to this article. Data from the Boletus informaticus database were kindly made available by Prof. Dr. Dušan Jurc and Dr. Nikica Ogris. Dr. Branko Vreš and Iztok Sajko prepared Figure 1 and 2 for print. English translation by Andreja Šalamon Verbič. 7. REFERENCES Batič, F., Primožič, K., Surina, B., Trošt, T. & Mayrhofer, H. 2003: Contribution to the lichen flora of Slovenia. X. 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Razreda SAZU (Ljubljana) 48 (2): 307-335. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letharia_vulpina (3. 1. 2011) Received 4.1.2011 Revision received 17.2.2011 Accepted 2.2.2011 APPENDIX Table 1: Number of releve, Date, Locality, Quadrant 1. 29. 8. 2010, Mala Pišnica - Robičje, 9548/3 2. 29. 8. 2010, Mala Pišnica - Robičje, 9548/3 3. 1. 9. 2010, Sleme - Mala Pišnica, 9548/3 4. 14. 9. 2006, Planina Klek, 9649/2; 5. 14. 9. 2010, Požgana Mlinarica, 9549/3; 6. 14. 9. 2010, Požga-na Mlinarica, 9549/3; 7. 21. 9. 2010, Vrata - Bri-nova glava, 9549/3; 8. 2. 9. 2010, Vrtaško Sleme-Črlovec, 9549/3; 9. 21. 9. 2010, Vrata - Šplevta - Prag, 9549/3; 10. 21. 9. 2010, Vrata - Brino-va glava, 9549/3; 11. 2. 8. 2010, Sleme - Mala Pišnica, 9548/3; 12. 2. 8. 2010, Sleme - Mala Pišnica, 9548/3; 13. 1. 9. 2010, Sleme - Mala Pišnica, 9548/3; 14. 14. 10. 2010, Planina pod Mišelj vrhom - Jezerski preval, 9649/3; 15. 22. 9. 2010, Planina Krstenica - Krsteniški Stog, 9649/3; 16. 22. 9. 2010, Planina Krstenica - Krsteniški Stog, 9649/3; 17. 22. 9. 2010, Planina Krstenica - Krsteniški Stog, 9649/3. 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