Flora of New Zealand Series

Description : Thallus crustose, thick, areolate, spreading in irregular bands or patches, (0.5–)1–2(–2.5) cm diam., without a delimiting prothallus. Upper surface smooth, to somewhat roughened, white, tartareous, cracks between areolae very narrow to somewhat gaping. Apothecia scattered, rather sparse, rounded (0.05–)0.01–0.05(–0.8) mm diam., subimmersed in areolae at first, becoming sessile at maturity, margins concolorous with thallus, only very slightly raised; disc plane to subconvex, blue-black, thickly white-pruinose (pruina C+ brilliant yellow), often difficult to distinguish from remainder of thallus. Epithecium brownish green (N+ red). Hymenium 60–70 μm tall. Ascospores ellipsoidal, 8–15 × 5–8 μm.

Chemistry : Thallus K+ yellow, C−, Pd−; disc K−, C+ brilliant yellow, Pd−; containing atranorin and sordidone. Lumbsch & Elix (2004: 24) give the chemistry as atranorin (major), sordidone (major), thiophanic acid (submajor), norstictic acid (submajor), arthothelin (minor), chloroatranorin (minor), ±connorstictic acid (minor) and eugenitol (minor).

S: Otago (Old Man Ra., Poolburn Reservoir, Manorburn, Teviot River near lake Onslow, Rock & Pillar Ra., Flagstaff near Dunedin). A predominantly high-alpine species occurring on overhanging or vertical hard, smooth schist rocks, together with species of Aspicilia, Lecanora cavicola, L. polytropa, L. rupicola, L. swartzii, Protoparmelia badia, Ramalina fimbriata, Rhizocarpon,and Xanthoparmelia xanthomelaena and, like L. rupicola, also on sun-exposed rocks, 650–1600 m. Known also from Europe, Scandinavia, the Balkans, South Africa, North America and New South Wales (Nimis & Poelt 1987; Leuckert & Poelt 1989: 147, map 1; Nimis 1993; Santesson 1993; Esslinger & Egan 1995; Nash et al. 1998; Scholz 2000; Becker 2002; Nimis & Martellos 2003; Lumbsch & Elix 2004; Ryan et al. 2004b: 198; Santesson et al. 2004).

Bipolar

Illustrations : Leuckert & Poelt (1989: 136, fig. 2); St. Clair (1999: 95); Flora of Australia56A (2004: xii, pl. 6); Grube et al. (2004a: 512, fig. 4).

Lecanora bicinta is characterised by: the saxicolous habit (high-alpine overhanging or vertical rock faces); the white, areolate thallus (C−) and the subimmersed apothecia having a blue-black disc thickly covered with white pruina (pruina C+ brilliant yellow indicating presence of sordidone). It is part of the L. rupicola aggregate (Leuckert & Poelt 1989; Nimis 1993; Foucard 2001) and in Europe four chemodemes are recognised (Leuckert & Poelt 1989). It is still poorly collected and understood in New Zealand where at present it is known from a few high-alpine habitats in Central Otago and from Flagstaff Hill above Dunedin (Galloway 2002b). The lichenicolous fungus * Arthonia glaucomaria Nyl. (q.v.) is reported as parasitising apothecial discs of L. bicincta (Leuckert & Poelt 1989: 128) and should be looked for in New Zealand populations. Other lichenicolous fungi parasitising L. carpinea are * Arthonia varians (Davies) Nyl. (Hafellner 2000) and * Rimularia insularis (Hertel & Rambold 1990).