Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. Otago, near entrance to Mt Aspiring National Park, Routeburn Road, silver beech [Nothofagus menziesii] forest with understorey grazing, 350 m, 30.i.1984, M.E. Hale65402 – US. Isotypes – BM, CHR.

Description : Thallus adnate, usually thin and rather brittle, pale greenish grey, 5–12 cm diam. Lobes sublinear to mostly subirregular, short, imbricate, 1–5 mm wide, usually with marginal secondary lobes, 1–2 mm wide, flaring to rounded, developing with age. Upper surface glossy, plane to distinctly wrinkled–faveolate, continuous, without soredia or isidia. Pseudocyphellae forming a nearly continuous white rim 0.1–0.2 mm wide around main and secondary lobes, also laminal on main or older lobes, discrete, sparse, 0.2–0.4 mm long, usually not fissuring with age. Lower surface black, sparsely to moderately rhizinate, but with a distinct naked to papillate brown marginal zone. Rhizines simple to furcate to sparsely squarrosely branched, 0.5–1.5 mm long. Apothecia common, subpedicellate, generally remaining flat, but sometimes cupuliform, 4–20 mm diam., the disc very pale brown, rarely darkening, splitting radially at maturity; the exciple wrinkled and effigurate-pseudocyphellate. Hymenium 60–65 μm tall. Ascospores 11–15 × 7–10 μm; perispore 1–1.5 μm thick. Pycnidia numerous, 90–100 μm diam. Conidia cylindrical, bacillar to weakly bifusiform, 5.5–6.5 μm long.

Chemistry : Cortex K+ yellow; medulla K+ yellow, C−, Pd+ yellow; containing atranorin, chloroatranorin, echinocarpic acid, with or without unidentified compound #27, or rarely with compound #27 alone, ±fatty acids. Chemical variation in this species is discussed in detail in Hale (1987: 47).

N: Wellington (Tongariro National Park). S: Nelson (Lake Rotoiti, Mt Rochfort) to Southland (Tuatapere). St: (Port Pegasus). Both west but mainly east of the Main Divide. Common on roadside Nothofagus, and other trees (Griselinia lucida, Kunzea ericoides, Metrosideros umbellata) in forested areas; mainly on canopy twigs, s.l. to 600 m. Above this height species of the P. crambidiocarpa group occur.

Endemic

Illustrations : Hale (1987: 9, fig. 7E; 45, fig. 23A).

Parmelia subtestacea is characterised by: the corticolous habit; the adnate to closely adnate thallus, irregularly lobed with frequent production of roundish to flaring, marginal secondary lobes; by the relatively sparse, mostly marginal pseudocyphellae; the sparse to moderately dense rhizines; and echinocarpic acid and ±unidentified compound #27 in the medulla. Morphologically it is indistinguishable from P. testacea, but this latter species has salazinic acid in the medulla.