Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. South I., Southland, Awarua Bay, c. 10 km S of Invercargill, 46º32's, 168º30'E, 5 m, S-facing roadcut under Leptospermum on stabilised sand, 22.i.2001, S. Hammer 8158 – CHR. Isotype– FH.

Description : Primary thallus squamulose, persistent, 5–10 mm long, 1–2 mm wide, sinuate, deeply laciniate, elongate-sublobulate, subcoralloid, esorediate, upper surface smooth, olivaceous to glaucescent-green, lower surface whitish, smooth to subfloccose to villose, darkening towards base and finally blackening, bases narrow, forming black cords intergrading with substratum, or attached by tufts of abundant brownish hyphae. Podetia arising from upper parts of basal squamules, 5–12 mm tall, 1–6 mm wide, bluish, tubular to slightly inflated, branched, dorsiventral, without openings or with punctate to elongate to deformed axillary and apical openings. Surface corticate, basal cortex thinning exposing inner, yellowish medulla, translucent, rugose or smooth, cortex above thickening, forming pronounced verruculae that become enlarged and slightly raised, rarely becoming squamulose; apical cortex thick and continuous, waxy to shining, glaucescent-green, olivaceous to bluish, branches to 1 mm wide arising in upper half of podetia, sometimes elongating and deflexed resembling periscopes, tapering or widening very slightly appearing stubby, branching dichotomous and sometimes proliferating by further dichotomies. Apothecia apical, brown, solitary or clustered, flat at first and with occasional umbonate growths centrally, mainly hemispherical at maturity. Asci and ascospores not seen. Pycnidia on squamules and podetia, sessile or shortly stalked, black, internal gel colourless. Conidia falciform, 2–4 × 0.5–1 μm.

Chemistry : Cortex K+, Pd+; containing thamnolic and decarboxythamnolic acids (major), barbatic acid (minor) and stictic acid (occasional).

N: North Auckland. S: Nelson, Westland, Otago, Southland (Awarua Bay). St: (Mt Allen). On peaty sandy soil, growing with C. southlandica. Known also from Tasmania (Hammer 2003b).

Australasian

Illustrations : Hammer (2003b: 414, figs 4–5; 415, figs 6–9).

Cladonia cyanopora is characterised by: dorsiventral podetia with deflexed, helmet-like branches having a noticeably bluish, shining cortex; and the thamnolic acid chemosyndrome.