Notocladonia S.Hammer
Type : Notocladonia cochleata (Müll.Arg.) S.Hammer [=Ramalea cochleata Müll.Arg.]
Description : Thallus dimorphic. Primary thallus bullate or of dorsiventral squamules, the squamules evanescent or persistent, upper surface corticate, smooth, convex to plane, or distinctly ridged and/or fissured, ascending at margins or adnate. Photobiont green, Trebouxia- like. Medulla white. Podetia erect or decumbent, arising from margins or upper surface of primary squamules, to 15 mm tall, terete to laterally compressed, cortex continuous, ridged–striate, occasionally fissured or somewhat clathrate near apices, exposing medullary hyphae, ±solid at base becoming fistulose towards apices, or solid throughout. AscomataApothecia, terminal or subterminal, rarely lateral on primary squamules or podetia, clustered–peltate, disc plane to convex, marginate. Epithecium granular, yellow-brown. Hymenium colourless, 20–45 μm tall. Asci clavate, 8-spored. Ascospores simple, colourless, ellipsoidal. Conidiomata pycnidia, marginal on primary squamules, black, bottle-shaped to subglobose. Conidia cylindrical, curved.
Notocladonia is a genus of two species included in the family Cladoniaceae (Hammer 2003a; Pennycook & Galloway 2004), with both species occurring in New Zealand. The genus Ramalea Nyl., to which one species of Notocladonia was earlier referred (see Galloway 1985a: 495–496; Conran 1992), is distinct from Notocladonia and is not even in the family Cladoniaceae. It is characterised by the unusual presence of apothecia below the lichenised squamules (Hammer 2003a).
