Flora of New Zealand Series

Lichen cinereus L. Mant. Pl. 1: 132 (1767).

Lecanora (Aspicilia) novae zelandiae H. Magn., Sv. Bot. Tidskr. 37: 282 (1943).

Lecanora novae zelandiae. Holotype: New Zealand. Canterbury, Lake Pukaki near hotel, on rock at roadside in grassland. G. Einar and Greta Du Rietz, 1927, S - not seen.

Thallus dull grey to grey-brown, superficially fine grey-pruinose or frosted, areolate-cracked, areolae plane to convex, angular, 1-2 mm wide, separated by deep gaping cracks, saxicolous, in patches 1-2 cm diam., among other lichens, without a visible prothallus. Medulla I-. Apothecia 1-2 mm diam., disc black, matt, epruinose, innate at first becoming plane and sessile in older fruits, thalline margin thin, concolorous with thallus. Hymenium 160-170 µm tall, epithecium 30-35 µm, sordid olive-greenish. Hypothecium 55-65 µm thick, colourless. Paraphyses conglutinate, discrete and branched in upper part 1-1.4 µm thick, to 2 µm thick at apices, moniliform. Ascospores (15-)18-25 × (8-)10-13 µm. Chemistry: Cortex and medulla K+ yellow → red, C-, KC+ red, Pd+ orange. Norstictic acid.

S: Canterbury (Mt Phipps, Arthur's Pass, Lake Pukaki), Otago (Old Man Ra.). Alpine, on rocks; still very poorly collected and probably more widely distributed in alpine regions.

Cosmopolitan