Telaranea lindenbergii (Gottsche) J.J.Engel & G.L.Merr.
Telaranea lindenbergii var. mellea J.J.Engel & Merrill, Phytologia 79: 252. June 1996 (1995).
Holotype: New Zealand, South Is., Otago Prov., near Herbert, Allison H5674 (CHR); isotype: (F).
Plants brownish yellow to rust-brown; stems slender, straight, rather wiry; branches rather distant, often long-flagelliform, the secondary branches typically few; branches terete, not complanate, the leaves transversely oriented, somewhat hand-like (at least on branches) due to incurving of lobes; leaf disc 2–3(4) cells high; lobes not infrequently with a biseriate tier of cells between the uniseriate row and extreme base, the cells of the uniseriate row ± thick-walled, weakly constricted or sometimes with feebly protruding septa.
Distribution and Ecology : Endemic to New Zealand: Stewart Island, South Island (150– 610 m), North Island. Known from Otago (Dunedin), Western Nelson (Stony Creek near Westport) and Volcanic Plateau EPs.
Known only from a limited number of collections, primarily from the southern portion of South Island. Known also from a single station in North Island, near Rotorua.
Comments : When viewed by transmitted light under the compound microscope, plants of var. mellea are often suffused with a brownish yellow to rust-brown pigment, rather like that of honey. The plant also has a distinctive aspect, differing from the typical variety by its straight, wiry stems and distant, long-flagelliform branches.
