Flora of New Zealand Series

Thallus foliose, heteromerous, grey-brown to dark brown usually with a whitish pruina, lobate, loosely attached. Upper cortex thick, scleroplectenchymatous or paraplectenchymatous. Lower cortex prosoplectenchymatous, black and distinct, or whitish and indistinct, rarely absent. Rhizines squarrose, rarely simple. Apothecia lecanorine, often with marginal lobules. Ascospores 8 per ascus, brown, 1-septate, usually more than 27 µm long and 15 µm broad. Pycnidia ± immersed. Conidia subcylindrical, 4-7 × 1-2 µm.

Physconia [Poelt Nova Hedwigia 9: 21-32 (1965); Gunnerbeck and Moberg Mycotaxon 8: 307-317 (1979)] is a genus of c. 15 species most common in Europe, North America and Asia. Two species are known from New Zealand. Useful information is given in Moberg [ Symb. bot. upsal. 22: 1-108 (1977)].