Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. Southland, Longwood Range, 19 km NNW of Riverton, along Pourakino River at junction with Granity Stream, 46º11's, 167º55'E, 150 m, on decorticated stump of Nothofagus menziesii in N. menziesii forest along the river, 14.i.1981, L. Tibell 10380 – UPS.

Description : Thallus episubstratic, minutely granular to almost farinaceous, or rarely thick, granular or immersed, greenish grey. Photobiont Stichococcus, sometimes trebouxioid algae also occur in thallus or rarely constitute the main part of the thallus. Apothecia long and slender, 1.5–2.5(–2.8) mm tall, 28–43 times as high as width of stalk. Stalk slender, 0.04–0.08(–0.1) mm diam., shining black, flexuous and often curved, with a reddish brown pruina in uppermost part, occasionally branched and bearing 2–3 capitula. Capitulum spherical, 0.12–0.3(–0.4) mm diam., without exciple. Hypothecium yellowish brown, knob-shaped, spherical to obovoid, usually about as wide as stalk or slightly narrower. Stalk covered with amorphous crystals, turning yellow and dissolving in K. Asci of variable shape 10–13(–16.5) × 2–3(–4.5) μm. Ascospores uni- or bi-seriate in ascus, spherical to somewhat square, (2.8–)3–3.8(–4.4) μm diam., thin-walled, smooth or with a few irregular cracks.

Chemistry : Thallus K−, C−, Pd+ yellow-red. Compounds not identified (Tibell 1987).

N: Northland (Puketi) to Wellington (Ohakune). S: Nelson (Nelson Lakes National Park) to Southland (Longwood Ra.). On lignum in shaded, humid situations, mainly on lignum of beech, but also on podocarps and kauri, s.l. to 910 m. Known also from Queensland (McCarthy 2003c, 2006).

Australasian

Illustrations : Tibell (1987: 97, fig. 64; 98, fig. 65A–E; 1992: 442, figs 1–8).

Chaenotheca deludens is characterised by: its very long stalked apothecia, the stalk being narrow, flexuous and often curved and bearing a slight reddish brown pruina in upper parts. Both a coelomycetous and an hyphomycetous anamorph were obtained in axenic spore cultures of the mycobiont of C. deludens (Tibell 1993).