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Lichens (1985) - Flora of New Zealand Lichens
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Cladia Nyl.

CLADIA Nyl., 1870

Thallus dimorphic consisting of small, often insignificant or evanescent basal squamules or granules from which pseudopodetia arise. Pseudopodetia erect, branching, variously perforate, dying at base and proliferating apically, without squamules, rather brittle and fragile when dry, flaccid when wet, perforations in some species forming distinctive clathrate-fenestrate patterns. Photobiont green Trebouxia. Medulla scarcely developed, arachnoid chondroid layer absent, its function taken by the cortex which is composed of conglutinate, longitudinal hyphae. Apothecia minute, on the apices of short terminal branches, often aggregated, peltate, disc plane, margin disappearing. Ascospores simple, long-ellipsoid to subfusiform, 8 per ascus. Pycnidia terminal on smaller branches of sterile pseudopodetia. Conidia, colourless, curved.

Key

1
Thallus hollow
2
Thallus not hollow, internal medulla present
4
2
Thallus corticolous on charred or decorticated wood, primary thallus scurfy-sorediate, pseudopodetia small, 2-5(-8) mm tall not dying at base, apices copiously fertile
schizopora
Thallus muscicolous or terricolous, primary thallus evanescent, pseudopodetia robust 1-8(-10) cm tall dying at base
3
3
Thallus with well-defined main stem, not richly branched, pseudopodetia conspicuously inflated, 2.5-5 mm wide, walls very thin, very fragile when dry, perforations rare or absent, consistently sterile
inflata
Thallus richly branching, often entangled, polymorphic, pseudopodetia not inflated, branches more slender, 1-3 mm wide, walls robust, plants often fertile
aggregata
4
Internal medulla stranded
retipora
Internal medulla tightly packed
5
5
Thallus wholly dark brown or black, cortex not crystalline, internal medulla dark brown or black
fuliginosa
Thallus yellow to yellow brown or greenish, cortex cystalline, internal medulla white in upper parts, becoming brown to black below
sullivanii

Cladia is a predominantly Southern Hemisphere genus of 8 species, 6 of which occur in New Zealand [Martin T.R.S.N.Z. (Bot). 3: 7-12 (1965); Galloway T.R.S.N.Z. (Bot.) 3: 161-167 (1966), Nova Hedwigia 28: 475-486 (1977)]. The centre of speciation of the genus appears to be south-eastern Australia [Filson Vict. Nat. 87: 324-327 (1970); J. Hattori bot. Lab. 49: 1-75 (1981)]. In New Zealand Cladia is most frequently found in boggy, peaty localities though some species are widely distributed in both grassland and forest. Cladia species are the Southern Hemisphere equivalent of the Northern Hemisphere "Reindeer Moss" species of Cladina. Synonyms are given in Galloway (1977) and Filson (1981).

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