Flora of New Zealand Series

=Ramalina erumpens var. norstictica D.Blanchon, J.Braggins & A.Stewart, J. Hattori Bot. Lab. 79: 75 (1996).

Holotype: New Zealand. Southland, Invercargill, Waihopai Scenic Reserve, on Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, 24.xii.1965, W. Martin s.n. – CHR 480057. Isotypes – BM, WELT.

Ramalina erumpens var. norstictica. Holotype: New Zealand. Otago, Mt Charles, Otago Peninsula, on Fuchsia, 22.vii.1970, P. Child 581 – CHR 429592. Isotypes – BM, WELT.

Description : Thallus erect to subpendulous, 1–4.5 cm long, attached by a delimited holdfast, dicotomously branched, corticolous. Lobes 0.5–2.0 mm wide, flat, broad at base and narrowing towards apices, apices furcate. Upper surface matt, yellow-green, breaking open at apices. Pseudocyphellae rare or absent. Soralia marginal and laminal, round to ellipsoidal, rimmed, producing fibrils. Apothecia not seen.

Chemistry : Three chemodemes present: (1) usnic and protocetraric acids; (2) usnic, norstictic, salazinic ±protocetraric acids; (3) usnic acid.

S: Canterbury, Otago (Otago Peninsula to Akatore), Southland (Invercargill, Clifden). St: (Bird I.). Ch.: Ant.: (collected by Colin Meurk) [map in Bannister et al. (2004: 134, fig. 9)]. On bark of Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, Dacrydium cupressinum, Fuchsia excorticata, Kunzea ericoides, Melicytus, Nothofagus shrubs, and on rock. Also known from Macquarie I. (McCarthy 2003c, 2006).

Paleotropical

Illustrations : Blanchon et al. (1996a: 66, figs 6E–F).

Ramalina erumpens is characterised by: the corticolous habit; thalli to 4.5 cm tall; dichotomous branching; round or ellipsoid soralia with fibrils on margins. The recently described species R. coreana Kashiw. & K.H. (Kashiwadani & Moon 2002) is similar to R. erumpens, but has a chemistry of divaricatic acid and differs in the nature of the holdfast and the dimensions of the ascospores.