Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Lichen simplex Davies, Trans. Linn. Soc. 2: 283 (1798).

Descriptions : Flora (1985: 411). See also Galloway & Coppins (1992a: 487–488).

N: South Auckland (Pio Pio). S: Canterbury (Kaikoura, Nape Nape, Castle Hill, Weka Pass), Southland (Clifden). On calcareous rocks, limestone etc. In Northern Hemisphere populations, the species occurs on a variety of substrata including acid and weakly calcareous rocks, rarely on consolidated soil (Magnusson 1936; Galloway & Coppins 1992a; Nimis 1993; Kantvilas 1998a; Nimis & Martellos 2003). Known also from Australia (McCarthy 2003c, 2006). It is still very poorly known and collected in New Zealand.

Cosmopolitan

Illustrations : Lindsay (1866b: pl. LXII, fig. 29 – as Lecanora simplex); Galløe (1930: 43, pls 34–37 – as Biatorella simplex); Magnusson (1936: 54, fig. 6; 64, fig. 10 – as Sarcogyne simplex); Ozenda & Clauzade (1970: 495, fig. 412 – as Sarcogyne simplex); Dobson (1992: 274; 2000: 315; 2005: 354); Hafellner (1995: 103, fig. 3); Hansen (1995a: 108); Brodo et al. (2001: 581, pl. 703).

Polysporina simplex is characterised by: the saxicolous (basicolous rocks) habit; a not apparent thallus; scattered or clustered black, small (0.3–0.8 mm diam.), superficial apothecia, the disc often with a central umbo, or ±fissured or gyrose, often grouped in lines following cracks or irregularities in the rock substratum; a relatively high hymenium, 90–130 μm; narrow ascospores, 3–5.5(–6) × 1–1.8(–2) μm; and slender paraphyses, 1–1.8(–2) μm diam. (Kantvilas 1998a).