Flora of New Zealand Series

Lichen griffithii Sm., Engl. Bot. 25: tab. 1735 (1807).

Lecidea pauxilla Krempelh., Verhandl. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien 26: 455 (1876).

Lecidea pauxilla. Lectotype: New Zealand. Sine loco (prob. Wellington). C. Knight, ex Herb. Krempelhuber, M 100-81/10!

Thallus whitish, matt or slightly glossy, thin and rimose, to irregularly convex-areolate, more rarely granular-verrucose, areolae c. 0.04-0.3 mm diam., effuse or bordered by a thin, dark line of prothallus. Apothecia scattered, c. 0.3-0.6(-0.8) mm diam., pinkish-brown to black with thin, smooth, sometimes flexuose, paler or concolorous margin, disc sometimes faintly white-pruinose. Hymenium colourless, 35-45 µm tall. Epithecium straw-coloured to dark brown, sometimes with minute granules dissolving in K. Asci 30-40 × 9-1 µm. Ascospores oblong-ellipsoid, straight, (0-)1(-3)-septate, 8-16 × 2.5-3.5 µm diam., apices clavate to capitate to 4.5 µm diam., often dark brown. Hypothecium colourless. Excipulum straw-coloured, with numerous, minute crystals dissolving in K, upper part sometimes pale brown, K+ tinged purple. Pycnidia numerous, appearing as innate black dots, c. 0.15-0.2 mm diam., sometimes surrounded by a thalline rim. Conidiogenous cells 6-8 × 1.5-2 µm, sometimes proliferating. Conidia ovoid to short-cylindrical, 3.7-4 × 1.5-2 µm. Chemistry: Cortex K+ pale yellow, C-, Pd-.

N: Wellington. Known only from one collection

Cosmopolitan