Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Sphaerophoron tener f. stereocauloides Nyl., Syn. meth. lich. 1 (2): 171 (1860) nom. nud.

≡Thysanophoron stereocauloides (Nyl.) M.Sato, Miscnea. bryol. lichenol. Nichinan 4 (3): 48 (1966).

=Thysanophoron pinkertonii Stirt., Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. 14: 359 (1883).

=Sphaerophoron robustum Colenso, Trans. N. Z. Inst. 17: 264 (1885) ["1884"] nom. nud.

=Sphaerophorus nobilis Zahlbr., Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien. math.-naturwiss. Kl. 104: 258 (1941).

Holotype: New Zealand. Sine loco, Charles Knight 1867 – H-NYL 40395. Isotypes – BM, WELT (Knight Herb. Vol. 13:7).

Thysanophoron pinkertonii. Lectotype: New Zealand. Sine loco, Dr Pinkerton [labelled by James Stirton as Thysanocaulon Pinkertonii] – GLAM [fide Galloway (1985a: 579)]. Isolectotypes – BM, UPS.

Sphaerophorus nobilis. Lectotype: New Zealand. Southland, Stuart Mts, on tree trunks, W.A. Thomson, ZA 424 – CHR 162474 [fide Galloway (1985a: 579)]. Isolectotype – B.

Descriptions : Flora (1985: 578–579 – as Thysanophoron stereocauloides). See also Murray (1960a: 192–193), Tibell (1987: 252–253) and Wedin (1995b: 94).

Chemistry : Medulla K−, Pd−, I+ violet-blue; containing sphaerophorin (major) and several minor unidentified compounds.

N: Gisborne (Urewera National Park), Wellington (Tongariro National Park to Tararua Ra.) S: Nelson (Mt Aorere, St Arnaud Ra.), Marlborough (Lookout Peak); Canterbury (Lewis River, Arthur's Pass, Bealey Spur, Cass, Woolshed Hill, Mt Winterslow), Westland (Mt Brewster); Otago (Lake Howden, Dart Valley, Rees Valley, Catlins River, Hunter's Hill), Southland (Stuart Mts, Borland Saddle, Lake Hauroko, Manapouri, Monowai, Doubtful Sound). St: (Ulva). Epiphytic on mountain and silver beech (Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides and N. menziesii) in ±open situations (especially in canopy branches), rarely on rocks on the forest floor in areas of high rainfall.

Endemic

Exsiccati : Tibell (1982: No. 75); Vězda (1997b: No. 276).

Illustrations : Satô (1968c: 150, fig. 1); Galloway (1985a: fig. 4); Tibell (1987; 252, fig. 190); Wedin (1995b: 95, fig. 49).

Sphaerophorus stereocauloides is a very distinctive species characterised by: the corticolous, rarely saxicolous habit; its large (to 25 cm tall), handsome, coralloid thallus arising from a single, thick, rigid basal branch attached by a thick holdfast; the generally abundant, terminal globose apothecia; by the bundles of cephalodia; and the presence of sphaerophorin. S. stereocauloides was placed in the monospecific genus Thysanophoron (Stirton 1883; Satô 1966, 1968c; Galloway 1985a) on the basis of the conspicuous holdfast and the presence of cephalodia. However, earlier investigations on cephalodia in Thysanophoron pinkertonii by Forsell (1883: 78) and Du Rietz (1925b: 367–369) showed that the correct name for Stirton's taxon was Sphaerophorus stereocauloides, a view upheld by Ohlsson (1974), Tibell (1984b, 1987) and by Wedin (1993a, 1995a). Wedin (1995a: 96) states, "As Sphaerophorus, with the exclusion of S. stereocauloides, would be paraphyletic, and hence an unnatural group, Thysanophoron cannot on the present data be accepted at any taxonomic level.*qout*

William Colenso (1885: 264–265) gave a good account of it, using the unpublished name Sphaerophoron robustum Colenso as a synonym and making the following observations: "…This fine Lichen has given Dr. Knight and myself some study and research. Believing it to be another new species of this small and peculiar genus, I early referred a specimen of it to Dr. Knight's superior judgement, who agreed with me that it was a new species, and closely allied to Sphaerophoron stereocauloides of Nylander. Subsequently, however, on my forwarding larger and better specimens to Dr. Knight, and on his re-examination of them, he found the plant to be identical with the species named by Nylander (supra), which Lichen Dr. Knight had himself sent in 1868 from New Zealand to Nylander, and it was published by him in the "Flora," No. 5, 1869 (a French [sic] serial). Notwithstanding, from that work being so little known here (Dr. Knight, the original publisher of the plant, not having republished it), and the plant itself so fine and rare and new to us – with, also, some differences as to size, etc., between Dr. Nylander's and my own measurements and descriptions – I bring it now forward, together with Dr. Nylander's description, kindly transcribed for me by Dr. Knight, from the foreign botanical work above-mentioned."

Sphaerophorus stereocauloides is one of the most beautiful lichens in New Zealand and is most commonly gathered from surface litter in areas of windthrow damage in Nothofagus forests, after dislodgement from canopy branches. In some cases the combined weight of moist, aggregated thalli is sufficient to cause even quite large branches supporting thalli to break. The cephalodia in this species are almost always indistinguishable from phyllocladia in fresh material but with care (×10 lens) can be distinguished. On storage, the colour of the phyllocladial branchlets bleaches to white and the bluish cephalodia are readily seen. Zahlbruckner (1941: 259) overlooked the presence of cephalodia in his specimens of S. nobilis but they are easily seen in the lectotype of this taxon (CHR 162474).