Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Psoroma patagonicum Malme, Ark. Bot. 20A (3): 13 (1925).

=Pannaria sphinctrina var. dilatata Hue, Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 48: LVI (1902) ["1901"].

≡Psoroma sphinctrinum var. dilatatum (Hue) Zahlbr., Cat. lich. univ. 3 (2): 275 (1924).

Description : Flora (1985: 479 – as Psoroma patagonicum).

Chemistry : Pd+ orange; containing vicanicin, pannarin and leprolomin (Piovano et al. 1985). Only the report of pannarin alone in material from South America (Quilhot et al. 1989) is reliable (Elvebakk & Galloway 2003: 7).

N: Wellington (Whakapapa R., Rimutaka Ra.). S: Nelson to Fiordland, mainly W of the Main Divide. St: (Port Pegasus, Wilson Bay). On bark of trees and shrubs, rarely on rocks in humid habitats of moderate shade. Known also from southern Chile and Argentina (Malme 1925; Galloway & Quilhot 1999; Calvelo & Liberatore 2001).

Austral

Illustrations : Calvelo (1992: 53, fig. 2C, D – as Psoroma patagonicum).

Pannaria patagonica is characterised by: the corticolous habit; the foliose–lobate thallus without a prothallus; irregularly imbricate, wrinkled–plicate lobes, with thickened, entire, tomentose margins; a smooth, matt or waxy upper surface with slight marginal pubescence; simple, globose to glomerulate cephalodia developed on the lower surface; sessile to subpedicellate apothecia, to 2 mm diam., with matt, brown, epruinose discs, rarely with a central thalline lobule, or gyrose etched, and thick, crenate–striate margins; subglobose, sometimes apiculate ascospores, 14–16 × 12–14 μm, with a verrucose perispore to 2.5 μm thick; and ?vicanicin as the major secondary compound. It has a green alga as major photobiont. Current studies indicate that New Zealand records of this species may refer to at least one undescribed species with deviating chemistry, but at present not all available collections have been carefully analysed. Until this question is resolved, Pannariaaff.patagonica is best considered a doubtful species in New Zealand (Elvebakk & Galloway 2003: 8).