Degelia crustacea
Holotype: New Zealand. North I., Auckland, Waitakere Ra., Piha Stream, 300 m, 17.iii.1979, J.K. Bartlett32436a – AK.
Description : Thallus small-squamulose to crustose, squamules closely appressed, attached to a blue-black prothallus, forming orbicular patches to 3 cm diam. Squamules incised, sometimes lobulate, to 0.1 mm diam., not noticeably enlarged at margins. Upper surface blue-grey. Cortex 25 μm thick, paraplectenchymatous of anticlinal hyphae. Apothecia rather rare, brown to blackish, to 1 mm diam., with a distinct, coronate thalline exciple to 100 μm thick, and a paraplectenchymatous proper exciple to 125 μm thick. Hymenium colourless, I+ blue to 120 μm tall. Hypothecium yellowish to 100 μm thick. Asci cylindrical, 60–90 × 12–15 μm, with amyloid apical structures. Ascospores ellipsoidal, 10–15 × 5–8 μm. Pycnidia not seen.
Chemistry : TLC− , all reactions negative.
N: Northland (Kawa Kawa, Russell) to Auckland (Waitakere Ra.) and South Auckland (Hunua Ra.). On bark of lowland coastal trees and shrubs. Known also from Australia (NSW) and Juan Fernandez (Jørgensen 2002e).
Austral
Illustration : Jørgensen et al. (2000: 259, fig. 2).
Degelia crustacea is characterised by: the corticolous habit; the crustose to subsquamulose thallus; the paraplectenchymatous upper cortex of anticlinal hyphae; the I+ blue reaction of the hymenium; ellipsoidal ascospores, 10–15 × 5–8 μm; and a negative chemistry. It appears to be related to D. periptera, another northern species, which, however, has long, stellately radiating lobes that are apically fan-shaped, and a differing cortical anatomy (upper cortex not paraplectenchymatous).
