Flora of New Zealand Series

Physcia ligulata Körber, Abhandl. schles. Ges. vaterl. Cult. 2: 30 (1862).

Parmelia aurea A. Rich., Voy. Astrolabe Bot.: 23 (1832) tab. 8, fig. 1 non Sprengel [Syst. Veg. 4 (1): 298 (1827)].

Lectotype: Australia. "Ad saxa arenaria, Novae Hollandiae". Hochstetter 1860, L 910. 187 551!

Thallus foliose, spreading, closely attached, rosette-forming to ± irregular, 1-3(-5) cm diam., saxicolous. Lobes subdichotomously to irregularly branched, mainly convex, 0.1-1.2(-1.6) mm wide, 3-5(-8) mm long, 100-300(-450) µm thick, ± discrete at margins, often widely separated, to ± contiguous, imbricate centrally, margins entire, noticeably downturned, apices rounded or shallowly incised, somewhat thickened, often with small, sparse to numerous, subapical, adventitious globose lobules or branchlets. Upper surface matt, smooth or minutely roughened or ± scabrid in parts, coarsely undulate-plicate, coriaceous, not pitted or faveolate, deep yellow to orange, rarely orange- red. Lower surface white at margins, pale pinkish-buff or brownish centrally, glossy or dull, wrinkled-puckered, sparsely rhizinate. Rhizines rare, short, pale brownish-pink or blackened, less than 0.1 mm long, fasciculate. Apothecia sparse to numerous, mainly central, solitary or clustered, rounded or irregularly deformed through mutual pressure, 0.1-2.0 mm diam., innate at first, slowly emergent with a thick, rounded rim, becoming sessile, disc concave at first, often hidden by inflexed margins, normally plane to subconvex-undulate at maturity, deep orange to orange-red, darker than margins or thallus, minutely roughened, margins persistent, entire to subcrenulate, inflexed at first, thinner at maturity, concolorous with thallus. Hymenium colourless, 50-65 µm tall. Apices of paraphyses clavate, to 6-7 µm diam. Ascospores (10-)12-15 × 6.5-9 µm.

N: North Auckland (Three Kings Is) to Wellington. S: Nelson (Boulder Bank) to Southland. St: A: Throughout on coastal rocks, common and widespread.

Australasian

Distinguished from X. parietina in the thicker, usually narrower, convex lobes which are often marginally lobulate, the upper surface is coriaceous and never pitted or faveolate, the apothecia initially are obviously innate, with rounded smooth margins. It is also apparently restricted to maritime rocks and is not known from bark. X. ectanea (Ach.) Räsänen, recorded from Australia [Filson Muelleria 2: 83-85 (1969); Filson and Rogers "Lichens of South Australia" p. 168-170 (1979)] is probably referable to this species.