Siphula fragilis (Hook.f. & Taylor) J.S.Murray
Endocarpon fragile J.D. Hook. et Taylor, Hook. Lond. J. Bot. 3: 639 (1844).
Thallus lobes thin and fragile, undulate, 3-8 mm wide and to 20 mm tall, margins entire, rounded or truncate. Surface uniformly smooth, suffused reddish-pink, margins darker fawnish-pink to reddish, very rarely fenestrate, occasionally with tufts of pale, simple rhizines growing from lower surface in decumbent plants on exposed soil. Chemistry: Medulla K-, C-, Pd-. TLC nil.
N: (Coromandel Ra., Ruapehu, Tararua Ra.). S: Nelson (Denniston Plateau) southwards down West Coast to Fiordland, eastwards into mountains of Canterbury and Otago. St: Mt Anglem to Port Pegasus. Moderately widespread on wet alpine soils.
Australasian
S. fragilis is readily recognised by its thin texture and characteristic reddish colour. It grows in damp, alpine soils in high-rainfall areas, often amongst mats of Andreaea in rock crevices frequently inundated by running water. It is often associated in such habitats with S. complanata and S. foliacea.
