Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Graphis inquinata (C.Knight & Mitt.) Hook.f., Handb. N. Z. Fl. 2: 586 (1867).

Lectotype: New Zealand. ?Auckland. Charles Knight 281 – BM [fide Hayward (1977: 71)].

Description : Flora (1985: 174 – as Graphis inquinata).

Chemistry : K+ yellow, C−, KC− Pd+ orange; containing stictic acid.

N: Auckland (Waitakere Ra.). On smooth-barked trees (Bartlett 1988). Still very poorly known in New Zealand. Known also from India (Nagarkar & Patwardhan 1982: 128; Awasthi 1991: 126).

Palaeotropical

Illustrations : Knight & Mitten (1860: pl. XII, fig. 22); Hayward (1977: 569, fig. 4D; 575, fig. 8A – as Graphis inquinata); Nargarkar & Patwardhan (1982: pl. III, fig. 17 – as Graphis inquinata); Makhija et al. (1992b: 18, pl. 1, fig. 6 – as Graphis inquinata).

Fissurina inquinata is characterised by: the corticolous habit; the yellow-brown, thick, continuous thallus; black, carbonised lips of the proper exciple; 4-locular ascospores, 21–22 × 8–9 μm; and stictic acid as the major metabolite. It is close to F. triticea, but has thinner spore walls, lacks surface fissures, and the proper exciple has black carbonised lips (Hayward 1977: 571). Further collections should establish whether two individual taxa are definitely involved, or whether F. inquinata should be synonymised with F. triticea.