Pertusaria novaezelandiae
Holotype: Nova Zelandia. North I. Ad lac Waikare-Moana, supra cort. Podocarpi, 1932, J. Jablonszky T 298 – BP.
Description : Flora (1985: 377 – based on sterile material only). Kantvilas (1990b: 298) gives the following description of the apothecia. "...Apothecia rare, mostly immersed deeply in verrucae and obscured by a dense sorediate 'plug', hymenia usually eroded; disc dark-grey, densely white-pruinose. Epithecium grey-brown, unchanged in K. Hypothecium brownish grey, unchanged or becoming colourless in K. Hymenium colourless, 150–180 μm thick. Paraphyses densely reticulate, c. 1.0 μm thick. Asci one-spored. Ascospores hyaline, ellipsoidal to cylindrical, sometimes a little curved or broader at one end, (52–)84–150 × (14–)22–48 m, contents guttulate; wall to 5 μm thick, internally smooth, slightly trimmed at apices when old".
Chemistry : Medulla and soredia K+ dark-purple or violet, KC+ reddish violet, C−, Pd−, UV+ white; containing hypothamnolic acid (major), ± conhypothamnolic acid (minor).
N: Northland (Mangamuka) to Wellington. S: Nelson to Southland. St: (Wilson Bay, Port Pegasus). Widespread, especially on Nothofagus bark in beech forest and on bark of Dacrydium cupressinum and Dracophyllum, both E and W of the Main Divide, s.l. to 1000 m. Also in Tasmania (Kantvilas 1990b) and eastern Australia from Queensland to Victoria (Kantvilas 1990c; Archer 1997: 196–197, 2004: 150; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).
Australasian
Illustrations : Kantvilas (1990b: 291, fig. 1E; 295, fig. 3E); Malcolm & Galloway (1997: 103, 147); Malcolm & Malcolm (2000: 33); Flora of Australia56A (2004: 105, pl. 50).
Pertusaria novaezelandiae is characterised by: the corticolous habit; disc-like apothecia; 1-spored asci; and the presence of hypothamnolic acid that is responsible for the characteristic violet-purple K reaction. It is distinguished from the superficially similar P. truncata by the K and C reactions (P. truncata is K+ dull orange-yellow, KC+ pink). In addition, P. novaezelandiae has rather thicker and more wrinkled thalli, characteristic papillae that are mostly incipient verrucae; and its verrucae have squashed, broad bases rather than constricted bases as in P. truncata.
