Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. Sine loco [probably Wellington], C. Knight s.n. – M. Isotype – TUR-VAINIO 17286 (Ahti 1993: 86).

Description : Flora (1985: 116).

Chemistry : Cortex K+ deep yellow→red, C−, KC+ red, Pd+ orange; containing atranorin, norstictic acid, zeorin and two unidentified compounds.

N: Northland (Three Kings Is, Kawerua), South Auckland (Great Mercury I., Slipper I., Mangaotaki Valley King Country), Wellington (Whariti, Ruahine Ra.) S: Otago (Strachan Creek, Burke River, N branch Routeburn, Pinehill Dunedin, Kaka Point), Southland (Mararoa River Lookout; Waituna Lagoon). St: (Mt Anglem, Table Hill). On damp soil in swampy heathland, colonising clay banks, in Leptospermum scrub, or among tussocks in subalpine grassland. Known also from Tasmania (McCarthy 2003c, 2006).

Australasian

Cladonia neozelandica is characterised by: the abundant, robust and strongly persistent basal squamules (up to 3 cm long), that commonly form extensive mats or clumps and only occasionally develop podetia; the clathrate-fissured podetia with entire to perforate axils; and the presence of norstictic acid (K+ red). It is closely similar to C. polycarpoides (q.v.) but has much larger and more robust basal squamules. It is also similar to C. enantia, but thalli are larger and more irregular, the apothecia are pale yellow-brown and the podetia are more obviously clathrate-fissured, and the chemistry of the two species is different (C. enantia has fumarprotocetraric, succinprotocetraric and protocetraric acids). This group of taxa have well-developed, persistent basal squamules.