Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. North Island, Wellington, Tararua State Forest, along track from Kiriwhakapapa to Te Mira Peak at turnoff to Cow Creek Hut, 1990, Wedin 25490 & Hörnell – UPS. Isotypes – BC, BM, CANL, CHR, COLO, DUKE, H. HMAS, LD, LE, LWU, M, MEL, MICH, MIN, NICH, O, POZ, S, TNS, UPS, US, W, Herb. K. Kalb, Herb. A Vězda.

Description : Thallus very small, erect, forming small patches, or sometimes extensive colonies of small, sterile branches with somewhat larger, fertile ones irregularly intermingled and protruding. Sterile branches minute, broadly flattened, scale-like, with a few short, attenuate branchlets along the upper margin. Fertile branches narrowly compressed 7–12(–16) mm long, 1.5–4(–5.5) mm wide, sometimes with a few minute, lateral branchlets at the base but usually unbranched at apices, usually not waisted below ascoma. Upper surface pale greenish to pale brownish, rarely almost white, normally smooth. Lower surface white. Apothecia common, terminal (1–)1.5–2.5(–3.5) mm wide, smooth or weakly faveolate on upper side. Mazedia apical to subapical, rarely ventral; thalline receptacle ruptured very early in development. Ascospores hyaline or pale brownish, with only slight ornamentation (5.5–)6.5–7.5(–9) μm. Pycnidia occasional, in apices of small branchlest on (usually) otherwise sterile branches. Conidia bacillar, 4.5–5.5(–6) × 1.5 μm.

Chemistry : Medulla K−, Pd+ orange (often faint) or Pd+ red in apothecia – containing isosphaeric acid (major), sphaerophorin (minor), methyl ascomatate (major), protocetraric and salazinic acids (tr.) and unidentified (tr.).

N: South Auckland (Te Aroha), Wellington (Tararua Ra.). S: Marlborough (Mt Stokes). St: (Mt Rakeahua). In beech forests, and in subalpine scrub in relatively open sites on ridges, on rotting wood. Also known from southern Chile from Isla San Juan to Chiloé (Wedin 1995b).

Austral

Exsiccati : Moberg (1996: No. 156); Tibell (1996a: No. 226).

Illustration : Wedin (1995b: 36, fig. 6).

Bunodophoron agnetae is similar to B. imshaugii but is somewhat smaller, has a less branched thallus and has almost smooth ascomata with fertile branches not so well delimited from the rest of the fertile branches. It has a distinctive chemistry (B. imshaugii has only sphaerophorin and ascomatic acid).