Flora of New Zealand Series

c Type : Haematomma vulgare A. Massal.,  typ. cons.  [=H. ochroleucum (Neck.) J.R.Laundon – see Jørgensen & Santesson 1993: 883)]

Description : Thallus crustose, corticate, with or without soredia. Photobiont green, coccoid. Ascomata apothecia, with an open disc, sessile or adnate to immersed in thallus; disc red, rounded to irregular. Proper exciple thin, thalline exciple well-developed, concolorous with thallus. Hymenial layers with red, acetone-insoluble pigments (haematommone, russulone, ivorione) mostly concentrated above ascus tips in epithecium. Hypothecium hyaline. Hamathecium of paraphyses less than 2 μm thick, richly branched and anastomosing, not thickened at apices. Asci Haematomma -type, tholus I+ blue with an ocular chamber and faint I+ blue axial mass (Malcolm & Galloway 1997: 186). Ascospores hyaline, transversely 3–25-septate, thin-walled, usually helically coiled in ascus. Conidiomata pycnidia, immersed, ostiolar region red (K+ magenta) or hyaline, never with a green pigment; conidiophores type V (Vobis 1980); conidia filiform and sickle-shaped to short and straight.

Haematomma is a widespread genus of 35 known taxa (Staiger & Kalb 1995; Staiger et al. 2004), being most speciose in tropical–subtropical areas but also occurring in temperate regions. Species are in the main corticolous, but also occasionally colonise rocks. It is accommodated in the family Haematommataceae (Hafellner 1984; Rogers & Hafellner 1988; Staiger & Kalb 1995; Elix 2004a; Eriksson et al. 2004; Pennycook & Galloway 2004). Conservation of the name Haematomma over earlier competing names is discussed in Jørgensen & Santesson (1993). Rogers & Bartlett (1986) recorded five species from New Zealand, describing H. alpinum R.W.Rogers and H. saxicola R.W.Rogers (=H. fenzlianum A.Massal.) from New Zealand material. Staiger & Kalb (1995) have recently monographed Haematomma worldwide. Lichenicolous fungi associating with species of Haematomma are discussed by Kalb et al. (1995). Six species of Haematomma are known from New Zealand. The taxon Haematomma sordidum C.W. Dodge (Fineran 1969: 247) is referred to Solenopsora (Staiger & Kalb 1995: 186; Galloway 2004b) (q.v.).