Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Parmelia taractica Kremp., Flora 61: 439 (1878).

Description : Thallus loosely to moderately adnate on soil or occasionally on rocks, 7–10 cm diam. Lobes variably often forming an entangled mat, ±plane, subirregular to linear-elongate, primary and marginal lobes subdichotomously branched, 2–4(–8) mm wide, with subrotund apices, 0.5–1.5 mm wide, without lobules. Upper surface yellow-green darkening with age, glossy, emaculate, smooth to slightly wrinkled, and developing cracks in older parts, without isidia or soredia. Lower surface wrinkled, papillate, often glossy, pale-brown to brown, darker centrally, rhizinate. Rhizines moderately dense, especially near margins, simple, often tufted, rarely dichotomously branched, slender, concolorous with lower surface. Apothecia occasional, sessile, 3–6 mm diam., disc concave to plane, red-brown; thalline exciple wrinkled, entire, thick, involute to crenulate. Ascospores 8–10 × 5–6 μm. Pycnidia common. Conidia bifusiform, 5–7 × 0.5 μm.

Chemistry : Cortex K−; medulla K+ yellow→dark-red, KC+ red, Pd+ orange; containing salazinic, consalazinic and usnic acids.

S: Canterbury (Selwyn Gorge – T.W.N. Beckett, May 1894), Otago (Alexandra, Observation Point, Manorburn Reservoir). On rocks and soil overlying rocks in arid grassland. Still very poorly collected in New Zealand. Known also from Australia , Mexico and southern South America (Elix 1994s: 294; McCarthy 2003c, 2006; Nash et al. 2004a).

Palaeotropical

Illustration : Hale (1990: 210, fig. 69E).

Xanthoparmelia taractica is characterised by: the saxicolous/terricolous habit; a densely entangled mat-forming thallus, predominantly on soil; broad, subrotund lobes; a pale and densely rhizinate lower surface; and salazinic acid in the medulla.