Toninia australis
Description : Thallus squamulose. Squamules up to 2 mm diam., scattered to contiguous, orbicular to irregular, plane to subconvex, sometimes with an indistinct central depression. Upper surface pale-grey to dark-brown, epruinose to moderately pruinose, dull to glossy, smooth or with shallow fissures in cortex, without pores or pseudocyphellae. Margins concolorous with upper surface. Lower surface pale-grey to pale-brown. Upper cortex 50–100 μm thick, including a 50-μm-thick epinecral layer, usually containing calcium oxalate crystals. Apothecia to 1.2 mm diam., plane to subconvex, ±persistently marginate, epruinose to weakly white-pruinose. Exciple dark reddish brown at the margin, pale-brown centrally, K+ red. HNO3−, sometimes with scattered crystals of calcium oxalate in innerparts. Hypothecium pale-brown to hyaline, with crystals of calcium oxalate in lower part. Hymenium 60–70 μm tall; epithecium dark reddish brown, K+ red, N−, without crystals. Ascospores narrowly ellipsoidal to bacillar, 1(–2)-septate, 10–19.5 × 3–5 μm. Pycnidia immersed in squamules. Conidia filiform.
Chemistry : TLC−, or with unidentified compounds [chemodemes 0, A, C or Y (Timdal 1991: 46)].
S: Canterbury (Cave Stream and Flock Hill). On soil on limestone outcrops in tussock grassland with scattered Discaria toumatou. Known also from Mexico, southern Chile, Namibia, South Africa, and Australia (Timdal 1991: 47; 2002d: 491; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).
Austral
Illustration : Timdal (1991: 46, fig. 18).
Toninia australis is characterised by: the terricolous (basicolous) habit; the dark reddish brown epithecium (K+ red, N−); and narrowly ellipsoidal to bacillar, 1(–2)-septate ascospores, 10–19.5 × 3–5 μm.
