Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Phaeographina confraga (Kremp.) Müll.Arg., Bull. Herb. Boissier 2, App. 1: 82 (1894).

Lectotype selected here!: New Zealand. Sine loco [probably Wellington], Charles Knight s.n. – M 0035791. Isolectotype – M 0035792. [Material collected by Charles Knight in the vicinity of Wellington was sent orginally to Joseph Hooker at Kew who then forwarded it on to Schimper who subsequently sent the unnamed material to F. Arnold in Munich. In a letter (7 June 2002), Prof. Hannes Hertel (Munich) writes "…Arnold received a large (and probably undetermined) lichen collection through the bryologist Wilhelm Philipp Schimper (1802–1880). Arnold carefully analyzed quite a number of this material (you will find his careful drawings of spores anywhere) but then decided to give the material for final determination to his friend Krempelhuber, who eventually published new taxa. Krempelhuber – I believe – was allowed to keep duplicates for his herbarium and returned later the collection to Arnold. As a result the Arnold herbarium specimens usually are the larger pieces, and all bear the taxon's name handwritten by Krempelhuber (while all the notes are usually by Arnold). In contrast, many of Krempelhuber's specimens show Arnold's notes…"].

Description : Thallus continuous, thick, wrinkled, minutely papillate (×10 lens), dirty creamish fawn or brownish yellow, here and there bisected by cracks through stretching of thallus by growth of underlying bark, in irregular patches, 3–5 cm diam. or more. Apothecia lirellate, widely scattered, occasionally clustered (4–6) together, lirellae ±immersed, narrow, black, 0.5–3(–4) mm long, 0.05–0.1 mm wide, straight to flexuose, occasionally branched, thalline margin slightly raised, concolorous with thallus, lips closed by a narrow slit. Ascospores 4 per ascus, broadly ellipsoidal to ovoid, colourless, muriform, 10–12 × 3–4(–6) locular, 35–55(–62) × 12–22(–25) μm.

Chemistry : TLC−, all reactions negative.

N: Wellington. Known only from the type collection.

Endemic

Fissurina confraga is characterised by: the corticolous habit; the thick, wrinkled, creamish fawn thallus; long, flexuose, simple to occasionally branched, immersed, black lirellae; 4-spored asci; colourless, muriform ascopores, 10–12 × 3–4(–6)-locular, 35–55(–62) × 12–22(–25) μm.