Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Neofuscelia bulfiniana Elix, Mycotaxon 63: 423 (1997).

Holotype: New Zealand. South I., Canterbury: Tasman Glacier Valley road. Mt Cook National Park, 41º40's, 170º10'E, on rock (moraine debris) in alpine herbfield, 10.xi.1989, J. Johnston3555 – WELT.

Description : Thallus small-foliose, adnate to tightly adnate, forming irregular rosettes, 2–3 cm wide. Lobes radiating, discrete, elongate to linear-elongate, dichotomously branched, 1–2 mm wide. Upper surface dark-brown to brown-black, the apices weakly to moderately convex, shining, smooth or irregularly pitted, older lobes becoming strongly convex, dull rugose, wrinkled-plicate and areolate; without isidia. Medulla white. Lower surface black, paler at apices, flat or rugulose; rhizines sparse, simple, thick, 0.5 mm long, clustered, concolorous black. Apothecia common, sessile, to 2 mm diam., disc shallowly concave to ±flat or subconvex, black-brown; thalline exciple smooth, margins thin, entire. Ascospores ellipsoidal, 8.5–10.5 × 5–6 μm. Pycnidia common, immersed. Conidia bifusiform, 4.5–6.5 × 1 μm.

Chemistry : Cortex K−, HNO3 + dark blue-green; medulla K−, C−. KC+ yellow-orange, Pd−; containing barbatic acid (major), 4- O -demethylbarbatic acid (minor).

S: Canterbury (Mt Cook National Park, Tasman Valley). On moraine debris.

Endemic

Illustration : Elix (1997b: 421, fig. 4 – as Neofuscelia bulfiniana).

Xanthoparmelia bulfiniana is characterised by: the saxicolous habit; the linear, convex lobes, the sparse, clustered rhizines, and the presence of barbatic acid in the medulla. Three other endemic New Zealand species of brown Xanthoparmelia have similar morphology and are most reliably distinguished by medullary chemistry: X. martinii has physodic acid; X. peloloba contains alectoronic acid; and X. pictada contains divaricatic acid. X. melanobarbatica differs in having flat lobes with a pale to tan lower surface (lobes convex, black below in X. bulfiniana); while X. atrobarbatica has flat, contiguous lobes with subfruticose laciniae (lobes convex, discrete and elaciniate in X. bulfiniana) (Elix 1997b: 424).