Rinodina bischoffii
≡Psora bischoffii Hepp, Flecht. Eur.: 81 (1853).
Description : Thallus endolithic to epilithic (on calcareous substrata), pale-grey to grey-brown, ochraceous, evanescent, of scurfy granules, warted or rarely thin, cracked to areolate, without a prothallus. Apothecia lecanorine (somewhat immersed when young), or biatorine to lecideine (then with groups of photobiont in margin), sessile, discrete, scattered or contiguous, 0.4–1 mm diam.; disc dark-brown to black, plane to convex, epruinose, margins entire, concolorous with thallus, or becoming excluded at maturity. Parathecium in upper parts brownish, concolorous with epithecium. Epithecium brown, dark-brown to pale red-brown. Hymenium 80–135 μm tall, inspersed with oil droplets, rarely without any inspersion. Paraphyses 1.5–2.5 μm thick, apices capitate, 3–6.5 μm diam. Hypothecium 80–180 μm thick, inspersed with oil droplets, K−. Asci Lecanora -type. Ascospores Bischoffii -type, spore ontogeny type A, 15–21 × 9–13 μm, wall finely warted.
Chemistry : TLC−, all reactions negative.
N: Hawke's Bay (Te Mata Peak). S: Nelson (Takaka, Pig Valley), Marlborough (Kaikoura Peninsula), Canterbury (Cave Stream, Castle Hill, Nape Nape, Weka Pass, Mt Palm, Motunau Beach, SE of Omihi, Whiterock, Rangitata Gorge), Otago (Fortification Road S of Oamaru), Southland (Castle Rock, Clifden) [map in Kaschik (2006: 29, fig. 6)]. On limestone rocks. Known also from Great Britain, Europe, Scandinavia, North America, Argentina, and Australia (Mayrhofer 1984b; Santesson 1993; Coppins 2002b; Mayrhofer & Moberg 2002b; Scutari et al. 2002a; McCarthy 2003c, 2006; Nimis & Martellos 2003; Santesson et al. 2004; Sheard 2004).
Cosmopolitan
Illustrations : Brodo (1981: 65, fig. 28); Foucard (1990: pl. 288); Wirth (1995a: 547, pl. 56H; 1995b: 828); Nordic Lichen Flora2 (2002: 101); Scutari et al. (2002a: 380, fig. 8); Kaschik (2006: 27, fig. 4).
Rinodina bischoffii is characterised by: the saxicolous (basicolous) habit; ascospores of Bischoffii -type; and inspersed oil droplets in the hymenium.
