Flora of New Zealand Series

P. superba Zahlbr., Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien math.-naturwiss. Kl. 104: 332 (1941).

P. dunedina Zahlbr., Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien math.-naturwiss. Kl. 104: 335 (1941).

Lectotype: New Zealand. Otago, Mt Maungatua, summit rocks c. 900 m. April, 1934. J.S. Thomson ZA 287, W!

P. dunedina. Lectotype: New Zealand. Otago. Flagstaff Hill, Dunedin. December, 1934. J.S. Thomson ZA 679, W!

Thallus grey-white, pale glaucous grey or fawn-grey, matt, uniform, areolate-cracked or with parallel striations or deep or narrow cracks (rather like tree bark), 2-12 cm diam., margins indeterminate, effuse. Fertile verrucae scattered, 0.5-5 mm diam., ± hemispherical deformed, constricted at base, round to irregular. Apothecia 1-5(-10) per verruca, immersed, ostioles black, apex of verruca surrounding ostiole red-brown, ± translucent margins grey-white or concolorous with thallus. Asci 8-spored. Ascospores uniseriate, oval-ellipsoid, ends pointed, (43.5-)52-69.5 × 25-30 µm, walls 3-13 µm thick, thickest at apices. Chemistry: TLC-2 unidentified compounds (yellow) lower one violet, 2 xanthones UV+ orange (charring UV++ citrine yellow).

S: Otago, on subalpine rocks in grassland on hills near Dunedin.

Australasian