Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Lecidea capistrata Darb., Wiss. Ergebn. Schwed. Südpolarenexped. 1901–1903, 4 (11): 3 (1912).

Description : Thallus crustose, to 1.4 mm thick, pale greyish or creamish or yellowish grey, tartareous, areolate cracked, areolae angular, small, 0.2–1 mm diam., separated by narrow cracks, plane to slightly convex, without isidia or soredia, and delimited at margins by a thin, wavy, black prothalline line. Apothecia scattered to numerous, immersed (aspicilioid) at first, becoming sessile, 1–1.2 mm diam., disc black, blue-black when moist, plane to subconvex, epruinose, thalline margin concolorous with thallus, rather thin, sometimes prominent, at length depressed and eventually disappearing. Hymenium colourless, without oil droplets, 80–90 μm tall, I+ violet-blue; epithecium greenish black, K+ green, N+ dirty reddish violet. Hypothecium pale to colourless, inner parts with oil droplets. Asci oblong to ellipsoidal–clavate, 8-spored. Ascospores oblong to ±ellipsoidal, 10–16 × 5.5–7.5 μm. Pycnidia immersed, 0.1–0.25 mm diam., black. Conidia filiform, curved, 18–28 × 1 μm.

Chemistry : Medulla K+ yellow, C+ orange, I−; containing atranorin, capistratone (2,5,7-trichloro-3- O- methylnorlichexanthone), thiophanic acid and unidentified xanthones (Fryday 2004a).

C: (Beeman Hill, Mt Dumas, Perseverance Harbour). Ant.: Known also from the Falkland Is (Darbishire 1912; Zahlbruckner 1917; Hertel 1984b; Knoph & Leuckert 1994; Fryday 2004a).

Austral

Illustration : Darbishire (1912: pl. 1, fig. 2).

Lecanora capistrata is characterised by: the saxicolous habit (coastal rocks); the tartareous, creamish thallus; apothecia aspicilioid at first, becoming sessile, the disc black, epruinose; the green-black epithecium; oblong–ellipsoidal ascospores 10–16 × 5.5–7.5 μm; curved, filiform conidia, 18–28 × 1 μm; and a chemistry (thallus K+ yellow, C+ orange) containing atranorin, capistratone and thiophanic acids.