Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Sticta poculifera Müll.Arg., Flora65: 304 (1882).

Descriptions : Flora (1985: 454–455). See also Galloway (1988a: 224–226) and Galloway et al. (2001b: 69).

Chemistry : Pulvinic acid, pulvinic dilactone, calycin, 3β-acetoxyfern-9(11)-en-one, 3β-acetoxyfern-9(11)-en-12β-ol, fern-9(11)-ene-3β,12β-diol, 3β-acetoxyfern-9(11)-en-19β-ol, 3β-hydroxyfern-9(11)-en-12-one, and unidentified triterpenoids.

N: Northland (Three Kings Is) to Auckland. South Auckland (Coromandel Peninsula to Te Aroha) [map in Galloway (1988a: 227, fig. 114)]. In mainly lowland, coastal habitats on twigs and bark of trees and shrubs and more rarely on sunny rocks, s.l. to 300 m. Known also from East Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Norfolk I., Fiji, Lord Howe I., and Queensland (Elix et al. 1992b; Galloway 1994b; Galloway et al. 2001b; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).

Palaeotropical

Illustration : Galloway (1988a: 225, fig. 113).

Pseudocyphellaria poculifera is characterised by: a yellow medulla; a green algal photobiont; marginal and laminal isidia that are densely clustered, minutely coralloid, at length becoming eroded and appearing sorediate. It does not have the labriform marginal soralia characteristic of P. aurata; it is distinguished from P. rubella by the lack of surface tomentum and laminal soredia and a different chemistry; and from P. pickeringii in the nature of the isidia, the structure of the exciple and in the size and colour of the ascospores. It may be parasitised by the lichenicolous fungi * Arthonia fuscopurpurea and * A. stictaria (q.v.).