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Lichens A-Pac (2007) - Flora of New Zealand Lichens - Revised Second Edition A-Pac
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Lecanactis Körb.

LECANACTIS Körb., 1855  nom. cons. 

Type : Lecanactis abietina (Ach.) Körb. [=Lichen abietinus Ach.,  typ. cons.]. For details of typification and conservation of Lecanactis Körb., with L. abietina (Ach.) Körb., as type species see Tehler (1986).

Description : Flora (1985: 205). See also Egea & Torrente (1994: 55–56).

Key

1
Ascospores with 4–6–8 septa
2
Ascospores with 3(4–5) septa
3
2
Ascospores (3–)4–5(–6)-septate, (18–)21–27 × 4–6 μm, straight or slightly curved
totarae
Ascospores 6–7(–8)-septate, (29–)32–48(–50) × 3–5.5 μm, straight
subfarinosa
3
Ascospores 20–30 μm long
4
Ascospores 25–40(–48) μm long
5
4
Ascomata 0.5–2.5 mm diam.; schizopeltic and lepraric acids present
neozelandica
Ascomata 0.2–0.5 mm diam.; TLC−
exigua
5
Thallus sulphur-yellow; pycnidia C−; ascospores 27–40(–43) × 4–5 μm; gyrophoric and lecanoric acids absent
tibelliana
Thallus whitish; pycnidia C+ red; ascospores 25–40(–48) × 3.5–5 μm; gyrophoric and lecanoric acids present
abietina

Lecanactis is a cosmopolitan genus of 24 known species (Tehler 1990, 1992; Egea & Torrente 1994; Egea et al. 1996; Tehler & Egea 1997; Grube 1998; Ryan & Tehler. 2004) included in the family Roccellaceae (Eriksson et al. 2004; Pennycook & Galloway 2004; Eriksson 2005). However, the familial affiliation of Lecanactis has long been problematic and some authors prefer to keep Lecanactis in a redefined Opegraphacaeae (see Tehler 1996, 1997; Tehler & Egea 1997). It is monophyletic, being related to well-known genera in the Arthoniales (Tehler 1993a; Tehler & Egea 1997; Grube 1998). Apomorphic evidence proposed for Lecanactis being: the thin, tomentose or felt-like structure of the thallus; the dark-brown excipular hyphae becoming paler laterally; and the presence of dibenzofurans (Tehler 1992).

The Flora treatment (Galloway 1985a: 205–208) recorded six species (L. mecistophora, L. meiophragmia, L. pallens, L. redingeri, L. subfarinosa and L. totarae). In their monograph of Lecanactis, Egea & Torrente (1994) refer "L. mecistophora" to Bactrospora pleistophragmoides. L. meiophragmia they refer to Lecideaceae s. lat., and L. pallens and L. redingeri they synonymise with L. subfarinosa. They record L. abietina as being present in New Zealand, and describe three new endemic species viz., L. exigua, L. neozelandica and L. tibelliana. Following their treatment the present account discusses six species.

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