Flora of New Zealand Series

=Strigula elegans (Fée) Müll.Arg., Flora 63: 41 (1880).

Description : Flora (1985: 563 – as Strigula elegans).

N: Hawke's Bay (Turiroa), Wellington (Kitchener Park Feilding, Manawatu Gorge, Akatarawa). On leaves of Alectryon excelsum and Beilschmiedia tawa; very common. The most common of all foliicolous lichens, and probably much more widely distributed in northern New Zealand in coastal forest. Widespread in the tropics, and recorded from the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, Galapagos Is, West and East Africa, South Africa, Mauritius, Madagascar, Rénion, India, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, New Guinea, Hawai'i, Cocos Is, New Caledonia and Australia (Santesson 1952; Lücking 1992; Farkas & Sipman 1997; Smith et al. 1997; Vězda et al. 1997; Elix & McCarthy 1998; Wolseley et al. 2002; Aptroot 2003a; Lücking et al. 2003; McCarthy 2003c, 2006; Nimis & Martellos 2003; Rønhede et al. 2003; Farkas 2004), and even found in temperate regions such as France.

Cosmopolitan

Illustrations : Santesson (1952: 161, fig. 20; 163, fig. 21 – as Strigula elegans); Lücking (1992: 44, fig. 10a; 46, fig. 11A – as Strigula elegans); Roux & Bricaud (1993: 124, fig. 9A); Thor et al. (2000: 48, fig. 6F; 58, fig. 7F).

Strigula smaragdula is characterised by: the foliicolous habit; the effigurate, subcuticular thallus; immersed perithecia; 1-septate (rarely 3-septate) ascospores, one cell often larger than the other, with a constriction at septum, 14–22(–24) × 4–5.5 μm; and numerous pycnidia with both macroconidia and microconidia produced.