Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. South I., Nelson, Denniston Plateau north of Westport, on Nothofagus menziesii near road, 500 m, 21.ix.1981, D.J. Galloway s.n. – BM. Isotype – CHR.

Description : Thallus orbicular to irregularly spreading, corticolous, 5–12(–20) cm diam., closely attached centrally, margins free and often ascending. Lobes linear-elongate to elongate-flabellate, apices rounded, discrete, occasionally contiguous to centre or more commonly complex-imbricate centrally, sinuses rounded. Margins entire, sinuous, occasionally delicately and shallowly notched or incised, slightly thickened below. Upper surface bright lettuce-green suffused red-brown or brown in parts and at margins, with occasional to frequent, minute, white to pale yellow-brown or red-brown papillae when moist, pale grey-green to pale-fawn, suffused red-brown in parts when dry, undulate, plane or shallowly ridged or wrinkled, not faveolate, matt or glossy, smooth, coriaceous, without soredia, isidia, maculae or phyllidia. Pseudocyphellae occasional to frequent, white, conspicuous, 0.3 mm diam., generally much less, flat, fleck-like, shallowly to deeply punctate, ±verruciform, margins raised, prominent. Medulla white. Photobiont green. Lower surface smooth to wrinkled-plicate, tomentose from margins to centre or occasionally with a narrow, glabrous, marginal zone, tomentum pale whitish buff to chocolate-brown centrally, thin, scattered, to thick and woolly-entangled centrally. Pseudocyphellae numerous, prominent, small at margins, larger centrally, round to irregular, 0.05–1.2 mm diam., shallowly verruciform or papillate, margins distinct, concolorous with lower cortex, free of tomentum, decorticate area flat, convex or concave, white. Apothecia sessile, occasional to frequent, submarginal to laminal, rounded, 0.5–3 mm diam., concave at first then plane to shallowly convex, disc red-brown to dark-brown or black, matt, epruinose, margins crenate-stellate or dentate, obscuring disc when young, exciple pale pinkish or whitish, translucent when moist, conspicuously scabrid-areolate. Epithecium densely granular, dark red-brown, rose-pink in K. Ascospores brown, fusiform, 1–3-septate, apices pointed, straight or curved, contents distinctly vacuolate, 32–41 × 7–9 μm. Pycnidia sparse to frequent, often in clustered groups at margins or scattered over lamina, 0.1 mm diam. or less, slightly raised, red-brown to black.

Chemistry : 15α,22-dihydroxy-24-hopanoic acid and 15α-acetoxy-22-hydroxyhopan-24-oic acid (±).

N: Taranaki (Mt Taranaki). S: Nelson (Denniston Plateau, Paparoa Ra.), Westland (Kelly Ra., Jackson Bay), Southland (Dusky Sound) [map in Galloway (1988a: 182, fig. 89)]. In high-rainfall areas on shrubs and tree bark among mosses, s.l. to 900 m.

Endemic

Illustration : Galloway (1988a: 181, fig. 88).

Pseudocyphellaria lindsayi is characterised by: linear-elongate to elongate-flabellate lobes with entire, rounded margins; scattered, white pseudocyphellae on the upper and lower surfaces; a white medulla; a green photobiont; submarginal to laminal apothecia with a red-brown to black, epruinose disc; a densely granular, red-brown epithecium (rose-pink in K); and a chemistry of two hopanoic acids.