Nephroma australe A.Rich.
N. homalodes Nyl., Lich. N.Z.: 43 (1888).
N. homanii Gyelnik, Annls cryptog. exot. 4: 129 (1931).
N. zelandicum Gyelnik, Borbásia 1: 4 (1938).
N. zelandicum f. squamicolum Gyelnik, Borbásia 1: 5 (1938).
N. australe var. rigidum Murray T.R.S.N.Z. (Bot.) 88: 384 (1960).
Type: New Zealand. Nelson. Havre de l'Astrolabe (Kaiteriteri). ?Lesson, ?D'Urville, PC, - not seen. Possibly in PC-THURET.
Thallus orbicular when substrate allows, to spreading, 2-10 cm diam., variously lobed. Lobes ascending at apices, often imbricate, rather thin, margins entire or ± lobulate. Upper surface smooth, shining, yellowish-green (usnic acid) or yellow (in bright sunlight) or greenish-brown (in shade), wrinkled, cracked, undulate, without isidia, soredia, maculae or pseudocyphellae. Lower surface pale creamish or buff to brown, smooth or wrinkled, whitish at margins. Apothecia round to reniform or rarely shallowly lobed, disc red-brown, matt or shining, smooth, margins entire, pale, slightly raised, upper surface areolate-scabrid. Ascospores pale reddish-brown, 3-septate, 17-22 × 5-7 µm. Chemistry: Two chemodemes are present in New Zealand populations. (i): Usnic acid, zeorin, 2 unidentified compounds (?terpenes). (ii): Usnic acid, zeorin, hypostictic and hyposalazinic acids. [See Moroney et al., Phytochemistry 20: 787-789 (1981)].
N: Auckland (Hunua Ra.) to Wellington. S: Nelson to Southland. St: Widespread, lowland, both east and west coasts. In humid places, mainly on bark or twigs, also on damp rocks among mosses.
Australasian
N. australe is a common epiphyte of bark or twigs in humid, undisturbed sites. It varies considerably in form from large, broad-lobed plants from on moss, or rocks or on tree boles (especially of Nothofagus), to small-lobed plants with marginal lobules or squamules, growing on twigs. The production of marginal squamules or lobules appears to be of no taxonomic significance. A faithful colour photograph is given in Martin and Child ["Lichens of New Zealand", pl. 26 (1972)]. A related (unidentified) species containing 7β- acetoxyhopan-22-ol, zeorin, constictic and norstictic acids, was collected by G.C. Bratt (72/1682 HO) from near the Homer Tunnel in 1972.
