Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. North Island, Northland, vicinity of Dome Forest walkway, N. of Warkworth, S-facing trailcut in shady forest with filtered sunlight, 36º39's, 174º44'E, 200 m, iv.2001, S. Hammer 8301 – CHR. Isotypes – AK, FH.

Description : Basal squamules persistent or disappearing, to 7 mm long (usually much shorter), 1–2 mm wide, olivaceous or glaucous-green to whitish above, esorediate; white and esorediate below, subincised to crenate-lobate. Podetia tubular to distinctly flattened, straight or sinuate, 1–3(–4.5) cm tall, 1–3 mm wide, sparsely to moderately branched, asubulate or irregularly cup-forming, cups barely exceeding width of supporting podetia, shallow, deformed with proliferations or squamules forming around margins; margins with several bundles of meristematic tissue giving rise to podetium-like proliferations; podetial and branch apices often reflexed; surface of podetia corticate at base or for the whole podetium, thickening in places and breaking into indistinct verruculae, sometimes interspersed with soralia or with indistinct spreading clumps of powdery soralia, upper parts of podetia mostly farinose-sorediate or forming corticate granules; with lateral, elongate squamules growing vertically, corticate surface facing inwards and producing new flattened podetia. Apothecia brown, solitary or in small apical clusters. Asci and ascospores not seen. Pycnidia not seen.

Chemistry : Cortex K−, C−, KC−, Pd+ orange-red, UV−; containing fumarprotocetraric acid.

N: Northland (Dome Forest Walkway, Anawhata, Waiheke I.), Auckland (Waitakere Ra.); South Auckland (Mt Maungatawhiri, Coroglen Coromandel Peninsula, Mangaotaki River King Country), Taranaki (Mt Taranaki), Wellington (Ruapehu, Wainuiomata). S: Nelson, Westland (Aorangi Reserve Greymouth). On soil.

Endemic

Illustrations : Hammer (2003b: 423, figs 25–29).

Cladonia incerta is characterised by: the alternately flattened and terete podetia with indistinct cups with numerous meristematic bundles; clumps of farinose to granular soredia at irregular intervals on sides and apices of podetia; and fumarprotocetraric as the major secondary compound.