Flora of New Zealand Series

Description : Basal squamules small, inconspicuous, persistent, 2–3 × 1 mm, slightly incised. Podetia arising from basal squamules, 10–30 mm tall, c. 7–1.5 mm diam., usually simple and branching near apices, the branches arranged in a subcymose or subcorymbose manner, axils open, always with terminal apothecia, off-white or partly brown; cortex smooth near base and becoming verrucose near apices, becoming longitudinally grooved and split, without soredia, occasionally slightly squamulose. Apothecia small, 0.25–0.5 mm diam., pale-brown to brown, convex, terminal on branches.

Chemistry : Cortex K+ weak yellow, KC−, Pd+ red; containing atranorin, fumarprotocetraric and protocetraric acids, the substance Cph-2 and accessory rangiformic and norrangiformic acids.

K: (Raoul I.). N: Northland (Te Paki), Auckland (Waitakere Ra.) to South Auckland (Kaimai Ra.). On soil, still very poorly collected. Known also from eastern Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, China, Nepal (Archer & Bartlett 1986; Stenroos 1988a; Archer 1992b; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).

Palaeotropical

Illustration : Stenroos (1988a: 127, fig. 4a, b).

An uncommon species distinguished from C. furcata by the presence of atranorin, and from fertile C. praetermissa by the absence of soredia.