Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Sticta fossulata ssp. physciospora Nyl., Syn. meth. lich. 1 (2): 364 (1860).

≡Sticta physciospora (Nyl.) Nyl., Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 9: 248 (1866).

≡Phaeosticta physciospora (Nyl.) Trevis., Lichenotheca veneta exs. 75 (1869).

≡Diphaeosticta physciospora (Nyl.) Clem., Gen. fung.: 175 (1909).

=Sticta cellulifera  sensu Taylor & Hook.f., in J.D. Hooker, Fl. Antarct. 1: 198 (1854).

Lectotype: Auckland Is, Hombron – PC-HUE [fide Galloway (1988a: 213]. For notes on typification see Galloway (1988a: 213–215).

Description : Thallus orbicular to irregularly spreading, 5–15 cm diam., closely to loosely attached centrally, margins free, corticolous. Lobes divergent, di- or trichotomously branched, rather broad, 5–10(–20) mm wide, discrete and truncate at apices, imbricate centrally, sinuses rounded. Margins entire, rounded, distinctly ridged above, without projecting pseudocyphellae, markedly thickened below. Upper surface olive-green to yellow-green when moist, often suffused red-brown towards apices, olivaceous, brownish when dry, strongly to weakly reticulate-faveolate, interconnecting ridges prominent, broad, rather flat, matt or glossy, without soredia, isidia, phyllidia, maculae, papillae or pseudocyphellae. Medulla white. Photobiont green. Lower surface glabrous and glossy in a broad to narrow marginal zone, tomentose centrally, occasionally to margins, ridged-bullate centrally. Pseudocyphellae yellow, rather inconspicuous, sparse to numerous, widely scattered, raised, verruciform, 0.1 mm diam., or less, rarely to 0.2 mm, decorticate area flat, pinprick-like. Apothecia sessile to pedicellate at maturity, marginal and laminal, rounded, 0.5–4(–5) mm diam., deeply cupuliform at first, becoming shallowly concave at maturity, disc dark red-brown to black, glossy, epruinose, smooth, margins scabrid-areolate, pale pinkish to red-brown, conspicuously dentate-stellate in old fruits, exciple pale-pinkish to red-brown at margins of disc, coarsely corrugate or scabrid-areolate. Epithecium dark red-brown, violet-purple in K. Ascospores brown, 1-septate, fusiform to oval-ellipsoidal, (21–)23–29(–32) × 7–9 μm. Pycnidia common to rare, scattered laminally, mainly on thallus ridges, black, minute, 0.1 mm diam., or less, punctate-impressed

Chemistry : Methyl evernate, tenuiorin, methyl gyrophorate, gyrophoric acid, 7β-acetoxyhopan-22-ol, hopane-7β,22-diol, hopane-6α,7β,22-triol, norstictic, salazinic, consalazinic, stictic, cryptostictic, connorstictic and constictic acids, and traces of pulvinic dilactone and calycin.

St: (Port Pegasus, Tommy I.). A: (Enderby I., Ranui Cove) C: (Mt Azimuth, Lyell Ridge, Mt Sorensen, Filhol Peak). An epiphyte of coastal scrub and coastal forest trees, and of subalpine scrub in tussuck grassland. Known also from Juan Fernandez (Galloway 1992c).

Austral

Illustrations : Galloway (1988: 214, fig. 108; 217, fig. 109).

Pseudocyphellaria physciospora is characterised by: broad, rather divergent lobes, di- or trichotomously branching, with entire margins thickened above and below, but lacking pseudocyphellae; upper surface is matt, reticulate-faveolate, without isidia, maculae, phyllidia, pseudocyphellae or soredia; apothecia are marginal and laminal, pedicellate, the disc red-brown, epruinose, the exciple red-brown, coarsely corrugate; it has a white medulla; a green photobiont; a pale-buff or whitish, velvety, short-tomentose lower surface with a prominent glabrous marginal zone and with minute, inconspicuous yellow pseudocyphellae; it has a chemistry containing several hopane triterpenoids, tenuiorin, norstictic and salazinic acids, and traces of the pigments calycin and pulvinic dilactone present in the pseudocyphellae.