Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Parmelia cordillerana Gyeln., Ann. Mycol. 36: 276 (1938).

Description : Thallus loosely to moderately adnate on rock, to 6 cm diam. Lobes imbricate or not, plane, irregular, irregularly branched, 2–5(–8) mm wide, margins crenate or in parts lobulate, lobules simple, plane, 0.2–1 mm wide. Upper surface yellow-green, broadly undulating, glossy, soon appearing pruinose or granular (×10 lens), emaculate, smooth, without areolae, isidiate, without soredia, lobe margins often black. Isidia dense, coarse, short, globose, apices epicorticate, erumpent becoming pustulate, barely sorediate. Lower surface pale-brown to brown-black, darker towards apices, rhizinate. Rhizines sparse to moderately dense, simple, black. Apothecia rare, pedicellate, 1–3 mm wide, disc convex to plane, dark-brown to brown-black; thalline exciple entire, persistent, pustulate-isidiate. Ascospores 8–9 × 50–6 μm. Pycnidia not seen.

Chemistry : Cortex K−; medulla K+ yellow→dark-red, C−, Pd+ orange; containing usnic, salazinic and consalazinic acids.

S: Canterbury (Mt Technical, Lewis Pass), Otago (Canyon Creek, Ahuriri Valley, Stag Pass, Red Hills, Flagstaff Hill, Dunedin). On exposed subalpine to alpine rocks. Known also from SE Australia and South America (Elix 1994s: 230; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).

Austral

Illustrations : Hale (1990: 96, fig. 34C); Elix (1994s: 231, fig. 95A).

Xanthoparmelia cordillerana is characterised by: the saxicolous habit; the erumpent isidia; the pale-brown to brown-black lower surface; and salazinic and consalazinic acids in the medulla. It is similar to X. scabrosa but this species has loxodin and norlobaridone in the medulla and its isidia show less tendency to become erumpent.