Flora of New Zealand Series

Thallus foliose, lobate, distinctly dorsiventral, closely to loosely attached, rarely subascending, corticolous, terricolous or saxicolous. Lobes subli-near to subirregular, rarely broad and rounded, margins entire to variously notched or incised, smooth, without cilia. Upper surface with pseudocyphellae, often maculate, upper cortex paraplectenchymatous without a pored epicortex. Photobiont green, Trebouxia. Lower surface black or brown, uniformly rhizinate to margins. Rhizines simple or squarrosely branched, black. Apothecia pedicellate to sessile, disc often perforate, thalline exciple with or without isidia, maculae or pseudocyphellae. Ascospores simple, subglobose to ellipsoid, colourless, 8 per ascus. Pycnidia present or absent.

Taxonomic revisions in the family Parmeliaceae have considerably reduced the number of taxa included in Parmelia sens. strict.  which now comprises taxa formerly included in Parmelia subsect. Parmelia, and Parmelia subsect. Simplices [Hale and Kurokawa Contr. U.S. natn. Herb. 36: 121-191 (1964)]. Species are characterised by marginal or laminal pseudocyphellae on the upper surface arranged in patterns (often along ridges on the upper surface) or scattered and often most noticeable at margins. The major medullary compound is salazinic acid. Taxa which have scattered, punctiform pseudocyphellae on the upper surface, and with gyrophoric or lecanoric acids (C+ pink, or red) in the medulla, are referred to Punctelia  (loc. cit.) . Nine species are recorded in New Zealand [Galloway and Elix N.Z. J. Bot. 21: 397-420 (1983)].