Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Urceolaria erubescens Taylor, Lond. J. Bot. 3: 640 (1844).

=Pertusaria perfida Nyl., Flora 48: 339 (1865).

Pertusaria perfida. Lectotype: New Zealand. Otago, on tertiary quartzite grit at foot of Saddle Hill Gully (near Dunedin), x.1861, W.L. Lindsay – E [fide Galloway (1985a: 378)]. Isolectotypes – H-NYL 23573, H-NYL 23737.

Description : Flora (1985: 378 – as Pertusaria perfida).

Chemistry : K+ yellow→red, C−, KC+ red, Pd+ orange; containing norstictic acid (major) and connorstictic acid (tr.).

S: Otago (Dunedin to Catlins). On coastal rocks, still rather poorly collected. Known also from South Africa, Japan, SE Australia, the Falkland Is and South Georgia, the South Shetland Is and the Antarctic Peninsula (Oshio 1968; Archer 1997, 2004a; Messuti & Archer 1999; Øvstedal & Lewis Smith 2001; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).

Austral

Illustrations : Oshio (1968: 107, fig. 17A–D; pl. III, fig. 4); Malcolm & Galloway (1997: 104 – as P. perfida); Messuti & Archer (1999: 209, fig. 3); Flora of Australia56A (2004: 103, pl. 41).

Pertusaria erubescens is characterised by: the saxicolous (coastal rocks) habit; disc-like, lecanorine apothecia; 8-spored asci; and the presence of norstictic acid. It is distinguished from the somewhat similar P. erumpescens by the apothecia (in P. erumpescens they are verruciform, while in P. erubescens they are disc-like).