Flora of New Zealand Series

Type : Bellemerea alpina (Sommerf.) Clauz. & Cl.Roux [Lecanora alpina Sommerf.]

Description : Thallus crustose, cracked- to verrucose-areolate; the areolae dispersed to contiguous on a black prothallus. Photobiont chlorococcoid, many cells ellipsoidal; in some cases photobiont layer is continuous beneath the hypothecium. Medulla I+ blue. Ascomata apothecia, ± immersed, sometimes occupying the entire surface area of the areolae; disc concave to plane. Thalline exciple thin, not raised above disc, not easily distinguished from thallus (cryptolecanorine). Proper exciple very thin or absent. Hamathecium of paraphyses, ± branched and anastomosing, apices slightly swollen, often with a thin, dark-brown pigmented cap. Epithecium brown or green-brown, N− or N+ purple. Hypothecium colourless. Asci 8-spored, clavate, Porpidia -type. Ascospores simple, or spuriously 1-septate, ±ellipsoidal, colourless, with a distinct I+ blue perispore. Conidiomata pycnidia, immersed. Conidiogenous cells in short chains. Conidia acrogenous or pleurogenous, short-bacillar, simple.

Bellemerea was created to accommodate species formerly included in Aspicilia [the A. cinereorufescens group] but differing in the medullary I+ reaction, the Porpidia -type ascus, the colour of the epithecium and the halonate spores (Clauzade & Roux 1984). The genus, included in the family Porpidiaceae (Eriksson et al. 2004; Pennycook & Galloway 2004; Eriksson 2005), comprises nine species most of which occur on iron-rich siliceous rocks in the Northern Hemisphere, and two of which are lichenicolous (Calatayud & Navarro-Rosinés 2001). Two species are known from New Zealand (Galloway 1985a: 22–23).