Flora of New Zealand Series

Description : Thallus saxicolous, green-grey to yellow-green, caespitose, button-like, small, to 8 mm tall, branching dense and complex producing small branchlets apically. Branches 0.3–1.2 mm wide, flat to subterete, somewhat inflated, rarely producing slit-like perforations. Surface shining to matt, smooth to slightly wrinkled. Holdfast diffuse. Soralia present, formed from disintegration of lower cortex, occurring laminally and at apices; soredia large, granular, yellowish. Apothecia rare, terminal (Nenthorn material).

Chemistry : Medulla K−; containing usnic and divaricatic acids.

S: Otago (Old Man Ra., Mt Benger, Teviot River below Lake Onslow Dam, Boundary Creek near Lake Onslow, ridge between Lake Onslow & upper Taieri River, Stony Creek, Old Dunstan Road, Rock & Pillar Ra., Nenthorn, The Pyramids Otago Peninsula, Black Head Dunedin, Kuriwao) [map in Bannister et al. (2004: 132, fig. 8)]. On high-alpine to coastal rocks (schist in alpine areas, basalt at coast), 15–1600 m, under dry, sheltered, overhanging ledges, and cave-like erosion hollows 1–3 m above ground level in the sides of schist tors [growth is mainly on the ceilings of these caves, to a lesser extent on the walls, and sparsely on the floors of some only – associating with Caloplaca lutea, Lecanora bicincta, L. cavicola, L. rupicola and L. swartzii in these microhabitats (see Galloway 2002b)], and on vertical, narrow stream sides; a rare and restricted species in New Zealand (Bannister 1998). Known also from East Africa (Krog & Swinscow 1974; Swinscow & Krog 1988) and Australia (Stevens 1987; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).

Palaeotropical

Illustrations : Stevens (1987: 153, pl. 7, fig. 7); Blanchon et al. (1996a: 66, fig. 6H; 85, fig. 9A).

Ramalina fimbriata is characterised by: the saxicolous habit; the small, fragile, button-like thalli; inflated branches; and large soredia produced from the disintegrating lower cortex.