Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Peltigera polydactylon var. neopolydactyla Gyeln., Magyar Bot. Lapok. 31: 46 (1932).

Description : Thallus large, orbicular to spreading, 3–8(–15) cm diam. Lobes linear to irregular 0.5–1.5 cm wide, 2–6 cm long. Margins entire, wavy, to minutely and irregularly notched or torn, slightly thickened below, without phyllidia or tomentum, rarely with tomentose apothecial initials. Upper surface glabrous, dark blue-black or slatey grey-black when wet, pale-grey to chestnut-brown or red-brown when dry, glossy or matt, smooth, undulate to ±billowed or bullate towards centre. Lower surface tomentose, whitish or buff at margins, soon becoming greyish, brown or blackened centrally. Veins broad, flattened to slightly raised, 1.5–3(–4) mm wide, greyish or grey-brown at margins, black or brown-black centrally, anastomosing; interstices white, lenticular to oval. Rhizines brown to black, simple to fasciculate, 3–7(–10) mm long. Apothecia common, erect, saddle-shaped; disc red-brown, matt, epruinose, inrolled; margins pale-buff, roughened, warted, soon disappearing, pale-buff, ridged, tomentose below. Ascospores colourless, acicular, 3–7-septate, (62.5–)70–90(–95) × 2.5–3 μm.

Chemistry : Tenuiorin, methyl gyrophorate, peltidactylin, dolichorrhizin, zeorin and unidentified triterpenoids (minor).

N: Northland (Three Kings Is to Kaipara Harbour). Auckland (Waitakere Ra.), South Auckland (Motuhora I.), Wellington (Tiritea). S: Westland (Fox Glacier, McArthur Flats Arawata River), Canterbury (Woodend Beach), Otago (West Matukituki, Old Man Ra., Rock & Pillar Ra., Maungatua, Swampy Summit, Taieri Mouth, Akatore), Southland (Milford Sound, Manapouri, Pukerau, Awarua Bay) [map in Galloway (2000d: 28, fig. 11)]. On damp, often peaty soils, among mosses and debris or on rotting logs below forest trees, or in scrub associations; on damp rocks and among grass on roadside banks; among Sphagnum in bogs, s.l. to 1300 m. It is circumpolar, boreal to arctic in the Northern Hemisphere where it occurs in North America, Europe and Asia (Holtan-Hartwig 1993; Goffinet & Hastings 1994; Vitikainen 1994b, 2004a; Goward et al. 1995). New Zealand records are the first for the Southern Hemisphere.

Bipolar

Illustrations : Holtan-Hartwig (1993: 58, figs 68, 69); Goffinet & Hastings (1994: 37, figs 64, 65, 66); Goward et al. (1994b: 100, fig. 30B); Vitikainen (1994b: 67, figs 108, 109); Hansen (1995: 51); Johnson et al. (1995: 350); Brodo et al. (2001: 516, pls 609, 610).

Peltigera neopolydactyla is characterised by: the terricolous/muscicolous habit; large, glabrous lobes with a ±billowed or bullate upper surface (best seen towards centre), entire margins; buff to dark-brown or black, flattened veins below (1.5–3(–4) mm wide), black or brown-black, simple to fasciculate rhizines (3–7(–10) mm long), and long, acicular spores (62.5–95 × 2.5–3 μm). It is distinguished from P. polydactylon by the wider, flatter veins and the longer spores.