Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. North I. South Auckland, Coromandel County, Hot Water Beach, high water mark, 6.xi.1982, J.K. Bartlett (AK 191289).

Description : Thallus crustose, closely attached, of dispersed verrucae or uniformly verrucose, yellowish white to yellowish grey, epruinose, soredia absent. Prothallus poorly developed or absent, grey-white when present. Apothecia sessile, constricted at base, 0.3–0.9 mm diam.; thalline exciple yellowish white, concolorous with thallus, thin, smooth; discs pale buff-pink to reddish brown, plane to convex, slightly pruinose to epruinose. Amphithecium containing large crystals. Epithecium yellow-brown, granular, 10–15 μm thick. Hymenium colourless, 65–80 μm tall. Hypothecium colourless. Paraphyses 2 μm thick, septate. Asci clavate 45–65 × 10–14 μm. Ascospores narrowly ellipsoidal, 10.5–14 × 5.5–7.5 μm.

Chemistry : Thallus and apothecial margins K+ yellow, C−, KC−, Pd+ yellow; containing atranorin (major), chloroatranorin (minor), 2'- O- methylperlatolic (major), 2'- O- methylhyperperlatolic (minor), 2'- O- methylisohyperperlatolic (minor) and 2'- O -methylsuperperlatolic (minor) acids.

N: Northland (Hen I., Poor Knights Is) to South Auckland (Hot Water Beach, Coromandel Peninsula). S: Marlborough (Resolution Bay). On coastal, siliceous rocks. Discussed in Galloway (1985a: 214) as Lecanora cenisea.

Endemic

Illustrations : Lumbsch (1994: 77, Fig. 54A–B).

Lecanora cenisioides is characterised by: the saxicolous habit; the crystal-free epithecium; and a chemistry containing atranorin and the 2'- O- methylperlatolic acid chemosyndrome.