Sporastatia A.Massal.
Type : Sporastatia testudinea (Ach.) A.Massal. [=Lichen cechumena var. testudinea Ach.]
Description : Thallus crustose, areolate; prothallus distinct, black, sometimes forming a rim around each areolae, noticeably delimiting thalli. Cortex of apically pigmented, anticlinal hyphae, with a colourless epinecral layer. Photobiont green, chlorococcoid. Medulla I−. Ascomata apothecia, immersed, black, epruinose, plane to subconvex, the disc often roughened or wrinkled. Thalline exciple absent. Proper exciple narrow, ±persistent, brown, K+ reddish at outer edge colourless internally, or brown throughout. Epithecium brownish (K+ reddish, N+ red) to dark-greenish (K+ green intensifying, N+ red). Hymenium colourless. Hypothecium colourless, or pale-brownish, K+ reddish. Hamathecium of mostly simple, septate paraphyses, apical cell swollen, I+ blue. Asci clavate, 100–200 spored; apical dome uniformly K/I+ blue, Catillaria -type (Malcolm & Galloway 1997: 186). Ascospores simple, subglobose, colourless, without a distinct perispore, 2.5–4 × 2– 3.5 μm. Conidiomata pycnidia. Conidia bacillar, simple, colourless.
Sporastatia is a small genus of three species worldwide (Ryan & Nash 2004), included in the family Catillariaceae (Eriksson et al. 2004; Pennycook & Galloway 2004; Eriksson 2005). It occurs on exposed hard siliceous rocks in montane and arctic areas of the Northern Hemisphere, in the Himalaya, and in the high-alpine zone in New Zealand, Tierra del Fuego and the subantarctic islands of the Southern Hemisphere (Hertel 1987b, 198b9; Coppins & Gilbert 1992; Grube & Poelt 1993). One species is recorded from New Zealand (Hertel 1989b; Galloway 1992d; Malcolm & Galloway 1997). The taxon Sporastatia desmaspora (C.Knight) Dodge is referable to Biatorella (q.v.).
