Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Lecanora ferruginea f. concilians Nyl., Lich. Scand.: 143 (1861).

Description : Thallus blue-grey to dark-grey or blackish, thick, deeply areolate, areolae irregular, 0.5–1 mm diam., surface irregular. Apothecia scattered to 2–3-together, sessile, constricted at base, rounded, 0.4–0.8 mm diam., disc plane to subconvex, black, thalline margin soon disappearing, grey-black to dark rust-red. Hymenium to 85 μm tall; epithecium dark-green 15–20 μm thick, K+ purple or violet. Hypothecium to 100 μm thick. Paraphyses branched, apices narrow or slightly swollen, 1.5–2 μm. Asci clavate 50–55 × 10–15 μm. Ascospores broadly ellipsoidal 12–17 × 6–9 μm; septum 4–6(–7) μm thick, ⅓ to ½ length of spore.

Chemistry : Thallus K−; apothecia K+ purple; containing parietin.

S: Canterbury (Mt Sebastopol, Mt Cook National Park). On alpine, siliceous rocks. Still very poorly known in New Zealand and apparently rare elsewhere in its range as well. Known also from Great Britain, Norway, Czechoslovakia and Ukraine (Magnusson 1950; Laundon 1992; Santesson 1993; Kondratyuk et al. 1996b, 1998; Fletcher & Coppins 2001d).

Bipolar

Caloplaca concilians is characterised by: the saxicolous habit; the very dark, areolate thallus; convex apothecia that are reddish brown-black when dry and dark rust-red when moist; ascospores 12–17 × 6–9 μm, the septum being 4–6(–7) μm.