Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. South Auckland, Kopuku coal mine near Mercer. On Cordyline australis, 1 May, 1981. J.K. Bartlett, CHR 375961!

Thallus orbicular, rosette-forming to irregularly spreading, ± closely attached centrally, margins free, 5-8(-10) cm diam. Lobes short, 3-6 mm wide, rounded, ± cochleate, imbricate, concave to plane or subconvex, irregularly undulate, margins entire to minutely crenulate, distinctly thickened, with conspicuous, punctiform, yellow pseudocyphellae. Upper surface dark leaden-grey, blackish or dark olive-reddish in parts when wet, pale grey-brown or buff when dry, margins brown or red-brown, maculate (×10 lens), maculae best seen when wet towards apices, margins yellow, sometimes suffused reddish-brown, free of algae, undulate or minutely wrinkled, not reticulate-faveolate, distinctly tomentose especially towards centre of lobes, not sorediate, isidiate or pseudocyphellate. Tomentum pale fawnish or whitish, downy, short, mainly laminal, rarely marginal. Medulla white, in places very pale yellow. Photobiont blue-green. Lower surface wrinkled uneven, pale buff or whitish at margins, darkening slightly towards centre, tomentose. Tomentum rather thin, whitish or pale buff, to margins. Pseudocyphellae yellow, conical-verruciform, projecting above tomentum, minute, 0.05-0.1 mm diam., sparse to moderately frequent. Apothecia not seen. Chemistry: Hopane-6α,7β,22-triol, hopane-7β,22-diol, 6α-acetoxyhopane-7β,22-diol, 7β,-acetoxyhopane-6α,22-diol, pulvinic acid, pulvinic lactone, calycin, tenuiorin, methylgyrophorate, stictic, constictic and norstictic acids. The species has a distinctly fishy smell when moistened, (?methylamine).

N: Known only from the type collection.

Endemic

A characteristic plant in the crocata group, distinguished from P. crocata by the presence of tomentum on the upper surface and an absence of soredia, from P. neglecta by an absence of marginal isidia and from P. maculata and P. lechleri by the laminal tomentum. The upper surface in P. sericeofulva is also undulate and not reticulate-faveolate, a character which also sets it apart from the above-mentioned species.