Flora of New Zealand Series

Type : Aulaxina opegraphina Fée

Description : Flora (1985: 23).

Aulaxina is the most characteristic genus in the family Gomphillaceae (Kirk et al. 2001; Eriksson et al. 2004; Pennycook & Galloway 2004; Eriksson 2005), differing from all other members of that family in the carbonised exciple, whose origin is not yet clear and gives it a rather isolated position in the family (Santesson 1952; Vězda & Poelt 1987; Lücking 1992; Dennetière & Péroni 1998; Lücking et al. 2005). The structure of the hymenium and ascospores differ from taxa in both the Graphidaceae and the Roccellaceae, allying species of Aulaxina with the Gomphillaceae, as do the characteristic black, hair-like hyphophores that commonly occur on the prothallus (Vězda 1979). Currently, 13 species are known in the genus (Santesson 1952; Kalb & Vězda 1988b; Lücking 1992, 1997a; Farkas & Sipman 1997; Lücking et al. 2005), most being obligate foliicoles except one Brazilian species which is corticolous (Kalb & Vězda 1988b), and one species from Kenya being lichenicolous (Lücking & Kalb 2002). Aulaxina has a wide pantropical distribution being most commonly encountered in the Neotropics. One species is known from New Zealand.