Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. North Island, Northland, Great Barrier Island, Hirakimata (Mt Hobson), on soil, 36º11's, 175º24'E, 450–580 m, 1982, B.W. Hayward s.n. – AK.

Description : Primary thallus squamulose, persistent or disappearing, squamules to 1 cm long and to 0.5 cm wide, spathulate, usually narrower towards base, sorediate or with scattered irregular granules, entire to subentire, barely incised at margins, glaucous-green above, whitish below, darker and blackening centrally, attached to substratum by ochraceous to black hyphae. Podetia to 7 cm tall, 1–2(–4) mm wide, corticate or partially irregularly granular-sorediate, especially in lower parts, 1–2(–4) mm wide, tubular and straight below, flattened and deformed-sinuate above, whitish at first, becoming glaucous-green to dull olivaceous at maturity, irregularly longitudinally fissured with fissures sometimes extending to base, occasionally with shallow, irregular, deformed, cup-like formations and flattened, twisted, longitudinally fissured branches, with brown apothecia at tips, occasionally entire podetium twisted, flattened, longitudinally fissured, branches appearing torn, sometimes with further branching at apices; soredia generally basal on podetia and proliferations (lower third), granular or occasionally farinose, scattered or in distinct, diffuse patches; squamules infrequent, similar to basal squamules, narrow at base, spathulate to flabellate and widening towards apex, esorediate or with a few, scattered soredia on the surface, occasionally enlarging and resembling flattened podetia. Apothecia pale- to dark-brown, subglobose, solitary or rarely in clusters. Asci and ascospores not seen. Pycnidia pale-brown to black, obconical to subglobose.

Chemistry : Cortex K+ yellow, C−, KC−, Pd+ reddish, UV−; containing fumarprotocetraric acid and atranorin.

N: Northland to Auckland. On roadsides and along tracks, on soil and organic substrata.

Endemic

Illustrations : Hammer (2003b: 428, figs 35–38).

Cladonia strangulata is characterised by: the flattened, twisted, deformed podetia; pronounced longitudinal fissures; scattered soredia; and fumarprotocetraric acid and atranorin. It is similar to C. corymbescens but is sorediate. It has wider podetia and coarser soredia than C. scabriuscula, and the podetia of this latter species are terete and not flattened-deformed. The pronounced flattening of C. strangulata is similar to that in C. incerta but this species never has longitudinal fissures, and has abundant farinose soredia (Hammer 2003b).