Flora of New Zealand Series

≡*Conida stictaria (Nyl.) Vouaux, Bull. Trimestr. Soc. Mycol. Fr. 30 (2): 164 (1914).

Lectotype: New Zealand. "Supra Stictae auratae thallum in Nova Zelandia, Knight" [most likely an Auckland collection made when Charles Knight was resident there: the host lichen is a specimen of Pseudocyphellaria poculifera] – H-NYL [fide Wedin & Hafellner (1998: 82)]. Isolectotypes – BM, UPS.

Description : Lichenicolous, weakly parasitic or commensalistic on host. Apothecia dark-brown, fleck-like. Epithecium 8–10 μm thick, greenish brown, consisting of branched paraphysoid apices, extending ±laterally above asci. Hymenium I+ red, K/I+ blue. Paraphysoids without apical caps but some ends are swollen, 2.5–3.5 μm diam., and the pigment (becoming greenish black in K) often extends downwards along paraphysoids in the hymenium. Asci clavate, 22.5–28 × 10–12 μm. Ascospores hyaline, oblong-ovoid, 1-septate, (9–)11–13 × (3.5–)4.5–5 μm.

N: Northland to Auckland. Collections discussed by Kondratyuk & Galloway (1994: 26) as Arthonia pelvetii (Hepp) Almq., are referable to A. stictaria (Wedin & Hafellner 1998: 84).

Endemic

Host : Pseudocyphellaria aurata, P. poculifera.

Illustrations : Knight (1883: pl. XXXV, fig. 4A); Wedin & Hafellner (1998: 83, fig. 8A; 84, fig. 9A).

* Arthonia stictaria is characterised by: the lichenicolous habit (on the yellow-medulla species Pseudocyphellaria aurata and P. poculifera as hosts); the dark-brown, fleck-like apothecia; and colourless, oblong-ovoid, 1-septate ascospores, 9–13 × 3.5–5.5 μm. The species, discussed by Charles Knight (Knight 1883: 351), was long thought to be synonymous with A. pelvetii, but the latter differs in having an indistinct, almost unpigmented epithecium consisting of erect, ±unbranched paraphysoid apices. Specimens discussed as A. pelvetii (Kondratyuk & Galloway 1994) are referable to A. stictaria (Wedin & Hafellner 1998: 84).