Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Parmelia aegialita Afz. in E. Acharius, Methodus: 191 (1803).

Description : Thallus whitish to grey-white, to 10 cm diam., closely attached. Lobes irregularly divided, not confluent at apices, ±confluent centrally, flat to longitudinally wrinkled, white- pruinose at apices, sometimes with marginal pseudocyphellae 0.5–1.0 mm wide, 1–2 mm long. Soralia laminal, granular white, developing from ruptured apices of ±inflated, swollen dactyls (0.2–0.5 mm diam., to 0.7 mm tall). Medulla white. Lower surface corticate, black. Apothecia not seen.

Chemistry : Cortex K+ yellow; medulla K−, C−, KC−, Pd−; containing divaricatic acid, atranorin, triterpenoids and an ochraceous pigment (K+ purple) in lowest medullary layers.

K: Raoul I. (Denham Bay). On orange tree bark. N: Northland (Aorangi I. Poor Knights Is). On shaded boulders, east side of Tatua Pk. First collected in New Zealand by Bruce Hayward in 1984 (AK 172363). Widespread in tropical areas where it is most commonly found on trees and shrubs and rarely on lava (Swinscow & Krog 1978, 1988; Aptroot 1987, 1988; Kalb 1990, 2004b; Aptroot 2002e; Wolseley et al. 2002; McCarthy 2003c, 2006; Mies & Schultz 2004).

Pantropical

Illustrations : Swinscow & Krog (1988: 79, fig. 35); Brodo et al. (2001: 306, pl. 316).

Dirinaria aegialita is characterised by: the saxicolous (rarely corticolous) habit; closely attached thalli; irregularly divided lobes; characteristic, laminal, finger-like or clavate outgrowths (dactyls) splitting open at the apices and producing soredia. It is similar in gross morphology to D. applanata, but that species never produces dactyls.