Flora of New Zealand Series

P. condensata (Zahlbr.) D. Galloway et P. James, Lichenologist 12: 294 (1980).

Sticta condensata Zahlbr., Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien math.-naturwiss. Kl. 104: 280 (1941).

Holotype [fide Galloway and James loc. cit., p. 294]: New Zealand. Southland, Riverton; Bush, on rotting log 2 August 1934. J.S. Thomson (T1638) ZA 541, W!

Thallus ± orbicular to spreading, 8-15(-20) cm diam., ± closely attached. Lobes broad (2-4 cm) at centre, narrow (0.5-1.5 cm) at margins, dichotomously to complexly branched, margins entire, ± thickened, notched, incised or ± minutely lobulate, often with conspicuous, white, punctiform to irregular pseudocyphellae, sometimes ragged uneven and ± subascendent. Upper surface lettuce-green when wet, olive-brown at margins or sometimes ± generally blackened, smooth or very shallowly faveolate-uneven, glossy at margins, smooth, matt centrally. Medulla white. Photobiont green. Lower surface sometimes with a narrow, glabrous, wrinkled marginal zone at lobe apices, ± densely and regularly thick, pale tomentose, whitish buff at margins, darkening to almost black centrally, tomentum thick, felted, pale, white, silky. Pseudocyphellae white, scattered, verruciform, frequent at margins, sparse centrally, 0.1-1.0 mm wide, round to irregular, flat, with a slightly raised margin. Apothecia mainly marginal, occasionally laminal, subpedicellate, disc red-brown, densely white-pruinose, margins pale or whitish, crenate to ± lobulate-roughened, completely covering disc when young, thalline exciple white, granular-verrucose. Ascospores brown-black, ellipsoid-fusiform, polaribilocular, 25-30 × 8-9 µm. Chemistry: Methyl virensate, physciosporin, hopane-6α, 7β,22-triol, two dull grey-green pigments, stictic, norstictic and constictic acids.

S: Nelson (Lewis Pass - Mt Technical), Canterbury (Arthur's Pass), Southland. Subalpine and coastal on trees and shrubs in high-light situations. Well-developed on trees and shrubs at treeline above the Lewis Pass. Still rather rarely collected.

Endemic

P. condensata is most closely related to P. faveolata (chemistry and spores are similar) but is distinguished by the broad, rather irregularly ragged lobes which are rather shallowly and unevenly faveolate or merely ± undulate, and by the thick, white, verrucose-areolate-scabrid thalline exciple of the apothecia. Further collections are needed to assess whether P. condensata is merely a subalpine form of P. faveolata.