Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Lichen limbatus Sm. in J.E. Smith & J. Sowerby, Engl.Bot. 16: 1104 (1803).

Descriptions : Flora (1985: 558). See also Galloway (1997: 147).

N: Northland (Rangitoto I., Auckland Domain) to Wellington. S: Nelson to Southland. St: [map in Galloway (1997: 149, fig. 32)]. Widespread though never abundant and only locally common in moist, humid habitats in partial shade, s.l. to 1600 m. On bark of trees and shrubs, occasionally on damp, subalpine rocks. Still rather poorly collected in New Zealand. Known also from Great Britain, Europe, Scandinavia, North and South America E Australia and Tasmania (Kantvilas 1990c; Purvis et al. 1992; Nimis 1993; Santesson 1993; Galloway 1994c, 1998e, 2001f; McCarthy 2003c, 2006; Nimis & Martellos 2003; Galloway & Thomas 2004; Santesson et al. 2004). It is quite often parasitised by the lichenicolous fungus * Abrothallus parmeliarum (q.v.).

Cosmopolitan

Illustrations : Galloway (1994: 260, fig. 27; 1997: 148, fig. 31); Goward et al. (1994b: 126, fig. 4A); Kantvilas & Jarman (1999: 146); Dobson (2000: 371; 2005: 419); Brodo et al. (2001: 673, pl. 824); McDonald et al. (2003: 69, fig. 3F).

Sticta limbata is characterised by: the corticolous (rarely saxicolous) habit; broadly rounded ±monophyllous, rather papery lobes that are conspicuously erose-grey-sorediate along the margins, and often also with scattered, pustulate, laminal soralia near lobe apices; a white medulla; a cyanobacterial photobiont; and a dark lower surface with felted, woolly tomentum in which are sunk scattered, rather sparse, sometimes grey-sorediate cyphellae. Superficially this species resembles Peltigera ulcerata or sorediate phases of P. didactyla. It is distinguished from S. sublimbata by its broader, more rounded and thinner lobes, which are ±monophyllous, and by the presence of linear, marginal soralia (which are not derived from sorediate isidia), scattered laminal erose-soralia, and cyphellae that occasionally become sorediate.