Flora of New Zealand Series

Lichen cylindricus L., Sp. Pl.: 1144 (1753).

Thallus 2-10 cm diam., polyphyllous rarely monophyllous, usually raised and somewhat curled, occasionally several thalli develop in rosettes, orbicular to irregular. Upper surface smooth or with a fine reticulum of black lines on a grey, pruinose background, or becoming obscurely wrinkled or areolate-pruinose, margins crenate to torn or incised, rigid to thin, ± perforate with occasional rhizines growing upright from upper surface, dull to subnitid, greyish- brown or pinkish-grey, to dark brown-grey, lower surface smooth or finely granular, creased or bullate, pale pinkish-brown, darker towards umbilicus, margins grey-pruinose. Rhizines sparse to frequent, peripheral and marginal, pale to dark brown, long, cylindrical or flat and branched, umbilicus small, compact. Apothecia marginal or scattered, 2-4 mm diam., pedicellate, stipe and exciple pale-coloured, disc black, plane at first, becoming convex, round to irregular, gyrose, gyrae thin to moderately coarse, often horse-shoe patterned. Hymenium 90-95 µm tall. Paraphyses simple, occasionally branched, colourless, septate, 1.7 µm tall. Paraphyses simple, occasionally branched, colourless, septate, 1.7 µm thick. Hypothecium 160 µm thick, brown, irregular. Ascospores colourless, 8.5-15.3 × 3.4-8.5 µm.

N: Taranaki (Mt Egmont), Wellington (Ngauruhoe, Raupehu, Tararua Ra.). S: Nelson to Fiordland and eastwards, Marlborough to Kakanui mountains. On subalpine or alpine rocks, best developed in foothill ranges of Canterbury and Marlborough and the mountains of Central Otago.

Cosmopolitan