Flora of New Zealand Series

D. applanata (Fée) Awasthi, J. Indian bot. Soc. 49: 135 (1970).

Parmelia applanata Fée, Essai cryptog. É Ecorc. exot. Officin.: 126 (1825).

Thallus suborbicular to spreading, 3-6 cm diam., closely appressed, corticolous. Lobes dichotomously to irregularly divided, 1-2 mm wide, contiguous, apices rounded, flabellate, scarcely distinctly discrete at periphery, usually confluent from margins, upper surface glaucous-white, or yellowish glaucous-grey to grey, moderately to densely pruinose, sorediate, longitudinally plicate-rugose centrally, becoming subverrucose, or subcrustose. Soralia laminal, on convex parts of plicate thallus, globose-capitate 0.5-1 mm diam., discrete, or dense and confluent, sorediafine, farinose, rarely granular, white. Lower surface black. Apothecia infrequent, laminal, sessile to subpedicellate, 0.6-2 mm diam., disc black, epruinose or subpruinose, margins, thick, entire concolorous with thallus. Ascospores biseriate, 12-22 × 6-10 µm. Chemistry: Cortex K+ yellow; medulla K-, C-, Pd-. Atranorin and divaricatic acid.

N: Northland to South Auckland (Pio Pio). On bark of introduced trees (especially fruit trees) in parks and gardens and on decorticated wood (fenceposts etc.).

Pantropical

Distinguished by the flabellate apices of lobes which are confluent from periphery, and by the capitate soralia.