Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Lichen aggregatus Sw., Nova gen. sp. pl.: 147 (1788).

≡Cladonia aggregata (Sw.) Ach., K. Vet.- Akad. Nya Handl. 16: 68 (1795).

=Dufourea collodes Hook.f. & Taylor, Lond. J. Bot. 3: 650 (1844).

≡Cladia collodes (Hook.f. & Taylor) C.W.Dodge, Nova Hedwigia 19: 490 (1971) ["1970"].

=Cladonia aggregata var. tenuior Nyl., Lich. Nov. Zel.: 21 (1888) nom. nud. [Filson (1981: 15) lists this as a synonym of Cladia aggregata, but Nylander's herbarium name (an annotation on Richard Helms's specimen 142 [H-NYL 37575] was not published in Nylander (1888: 21) as indicated in Filson (1981)].

=Cladia taylori C.W.Dodge, Nova Hedwigia 19: 480 (1971) ["1970"].

Dufourea collodes. Lectotype: New Zealand. Campbell Island, J.D. Hooker – BM [fide Galloway (1977a: 480)]. Isolectotypes – F, FH.

Cladia taylori. Holotype: New Zealand. Sine loco, W. Stanger 14 – FH. [The holotype collection bears the following annotation in Thomas Taylor's hand "Cenomyce collodes Tayl (Dufourea collodes MSS T.T.) No 14, New Zealand Dr. Stanger (Dr. Balfour) 21 Feb. 1842. Mr G. J. Lyon."].

Description : Flora (1985: 95–96).

Chemistry : Thallus K−, C−, KC−, Pd−; containing barbatic, 4- O -demethylbarbatic, fumarprotocetraric and ursolic acids, unidentified triterpenoids and 13 unidentified compounds (Filson 1992b: 103).

N: Northland (Three Kings Is) to Wellington. S: Nelson to Southland. St: C: A: Ant: (N of Mt Waterhouse). Very widely distributed and common, s.l. to 2000 m. On soil and among mosses in grassland, among mosses on forest floor or on lower part of tree trunks, occasionally on fenceposts. Tolerant of a wide range of habitats from very dry to very moist. Known also from the West Indies, Central and South America, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Asia, Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Hawai'i and Australia (Kalb 1990; Zakaria et al. 2000; Aptroot 2002e; Becker 2002; Wolseley et al. 2002; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).

Palaeotropical

Exsiccati : Elix (1985: No. 76).

Illustrations : Duvigneaud (1944: 153, fig. 17:3); Martin (1965: pl. 3); Galloway (1966: pl.1, fig. 1); Martin & Child (1972: 53, pl. 3); Filson & Rogers (1979: pl. 5A, B); Filson (1981: 49, pl. 3; 50, pl. 4; 59, pl. 13; 60, pl. 14; 61, pl. 15; 64, pl. 18; 65, pl. 19; 66, pl. 20); Filson & Archer (1986: 219, fig. 1); Stenroos (1988b: 209, fig. 1B, C); Malcolm & Malcolm (1989: 99); Grgurinovic (1992: xvi, fig. 27); Australasian Lichenological Newsletter 34 (1994: front cover); Malcolm & Galloway (1997: 97, 114, 157); Eldridge & Tozer (1997: 42, fig. 4.23); Kantvilas & Elix (1999: 143, fig. 2); Kantvilas & Jarman (1999: 42); Malcolm & Malcolm (2000: 36); Johnson & Gerbeaux (2004: 131, fig. 123).

Cladia aggregata is probably one of the most widely distributed and also the most polymorphic lichen in New Zealand. It is possible to collect a continuous series of biotypes between tall and dwarf, robust and slender, dark-brown, and pale yellowish green to green, perforate to ±imperforate, sympodial or equally dichotomous. Undoubtedly this variation comprises some or all of the taxa recently segregated from C. aggregata in Tasmanian populations (Kantvilas & Elix 1999; McCarthy 2003c, 2005), and New Zealand populations need to be re-examined in the light of these findings. C. aggregata is distinguished from C. inflata on morphological and chemical grounds: the branching in C. aggregata is complex often densely entangled, that in C. inflata is sparse and ±dichotomous; in C. aggregata axils are generally open whereas in C. inflata the axils are closed; perforations are round to elliptical and common in C. aggregata, while in C. inflata perforations are widely scattered to rare, elliptical; chemistry in C. aggregata is dominated by barbatic acid, while in C. inflata it is dominated by fumarprotocetraric acid (see Kantvilas & Elix 1987: 204, tab. 1).