Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. Canterbury, Nina Valley near Lewis Pass. On bark of Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides, 11 September 1981. P.W. James, BM!

Thallus in irregular, conspicuous patches, spreading over bryophytes on bark or rock, 5-10(-15) cm diam. Surface arachnoid-byssoid, white below and at margins, overlain with coarse to fine, aeruginose-green to green-white contiguous granules, not areolate-cracked. Photobiont green, unicellular cells 2-5 µm diam. Apothecia numerous, inapparent, solitary or rarely 2-confluent, rounded or irregular, 0.5-1.2 mm diam., in subglobose to ± flattened pustules, margins irregular, granular, uneven, concolorous or paler than disc, disc plane or ± convex, grey, white-pulverulent, granular and pruinose. Epithecium minutely granular, ± grey-opaque. Hymenium to 400 µm tall. Paraphyses very numerous, c. 1 µm thick, forming a densely anastomosing network. Asci thin-walled, 400 × 100 µm. Ascospores 1 per ascus, large, oblong-ellipsoid with rounded apices, 17-21(-23)-septate, cells thin-walled, lenticular, 285-390 × 79-95 µm. Chemistry: Atranorin, psoromic, neopsoromic and protocetraric ± acids.

S: Canterbury. Nina Valley and Boyle River near Lewis Pass. On mountain beech, rarely on rock, in moist, humid habitats.

Endemic