Parmelia salcrambidiocarpa
Holotype: New Zealand. Wellington, Whakapapanui Walk Trail Head, Chateau Tongariro National Park, 1180 m, M.E. Hale 65558 – US.
Description : Thallus adnate to loosely attached, nearly pulvinate with age, whitish mineral grey, 4–12 cm diam. Lobes sublinear, little branched to dichotomously branched, 1.5–4 mm wide. Upper surface shining, plane, smooth to wrinkled, continuous or transversely cracked with age. Pseudocyphellae forming a nearly continuous narrow rim around the margins, 0.1–0.2 mm wide, also laminal and effigurate, 0.2–1 mm long, discrete, fissuring with age. Lower surface moderately to densely rhizinate. Rhizines simple to moderately squarrosely branched, 1–3 mm long, usually projecting as a mat beyond the lobe margins. Apothecia common, pedicellate, 5–18 mm diam., the disc flat and radially splitting, pale- to dark-brown. Hymenium 55–65 μm tall. Ascospores 12–15 × 7–10 μm; perispore 1–1.5 μm thick. Pycnidia numerous, 90–110 μm diam. Conidia cylindrical to weakly bifusiform, 5–6 μm long.
Chemistry : Cortex K+ yellow; medulla K+ yellow→red, C−, KC+ red, Pd+ orange-red; containing atranorin, chloroatranorin, salazinic acid (major), consalazinic acid (minor) and ±lobaric acid.
N: Gisborne (Lake Waikaremoana), Wellington (Tongariro National Park). On Dracophyllum uniflorum and other subalpine shrubs, 600–1300 m. Still rather poorly collected. Known also from New South Wales and Tasmania (Hale 1987; Kantvilas 1990c; Elix 1994m; Kantvilas & Jarman 1999; Kantvilas et al. 2002; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).
Australasian
Illustrations : Hale (1987: 8, fig. 6B; 37, fig. 20D); Kantvilas & Jarman (1999: 98); Kantvilas et al. (2002: 102).
Parmelia salcrambidiocarpa is characterised by: the corticolous habit; the sublinear lobes without either soredia or isidia; mainly marginal, linear pseudocyphellae; rhizines projecting beyond the lobe margins; moderately small ascospores, 12–15 × 7–10 μm; and salazinic acid in the medulla.
