Flora of New Zealand Series

Type : Immersaria athroocarpa (Ach.) Rambold & Pietschm. [Lichen athroocarpus Ach.]

Description : Thallus crustose, of dispersed to contiguous areolae on a black to grey prothallus. Medulla I+ violet. Ascomata apothecia, scattered to crowded, lecideine, dark grey to black, immersed, ±marginate. Hypothecium colourless to pale brownish. Asci Porpidia -type. Ascospores colourless, ellipsoidal, halonate. Conidiomata pycnidia immersed. Conidia cylindrical.

Immersaria, a genus of five species (Calatayud & Rambold 1998; Kainz 2004a) in the family Porpidiaceae (Rambold 1989: 239; Eriksson et al. 2004; Pennycook & Galloway 2004), was formerly included in Porpidia (Hertel 1985a, 1985b, 1989; Brodo & Hertel 1987; Galloway & Coppins in Purvis et al. 1992) and is characterised by immersed, lecideine apothecia, Porpidia -type asci, halonate ascospores and production of para-depsides and β-orcinol depsidones (Rambold 1989; Kainz 2004a). The single species I. athroocarpa, is widespread in alpine areas of the Northern Hemisphere – Europe, Russia, Nepal, China, Canada, USA, Mexico (Hertel 1977a, 1991, 2001; Nimis 1993) and is known also from South Africa, Australia (Rambold 1989), New Zealand, and Chile (Hertel 1985a, 1985b, 1989).