Bapalmuia buchanani
≡Stereocaulon buchanani Stirt., Trans. N. Z. Inst. 7: 368 (1875).
≡Patellaria buchanani (Stirt.) Müll.Arg., Bull. Herb. Boissier 2, App. 1: 69 (1894).
≡Bacidia buchanani (Stirt.) Hellb., Bihang K. Sv. Vet.-Akad. Handl. 21 (3) 13: 98 (1896).
=Bacidia pedicellata C.Knight, Trans. N. Z. Inst. 12: 372 (1880).
=Lecidea rhypoderma C.Knight, Trans. N. Z. Inst. 12: 375 (1880).
=Lecidea subglobosa Nyl., Lich. Nov. Zel.: 93 (1888).
=Bacidia exaltata Zahlbr., Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien math.-naturwiss. Kl. 104: 319 (1941). For additional synonymy see Lamb (1954: 121), Galloway (1985a: 29) and Kalb et al. (2000: 286).
Lectotype: New Zealand. Prope Wellington, rec'd 18.ix.1874, J. Buchanan – GLAM [fide Lamb (1954: 123)]. Isolectotypes – BM, GLAM, WELT.
Bacidia pedicellata. Type. New Zealand. Sine loco [probably Wellington], C. Knight s.n. – WELT.
Lecidea rhypoderma. Holotype: New Zealand. Sine loco [probably Wellington], C. Knight s.n. – WELT.
Lecidea subglobosa. Holotype: New Zealand. Sine loco [probably Wellington], 1867, C. Knight 310 – H-NYL, 17079. Isotype – WELT.
Bacidia exaltata. Lectotype: New Zealand. Hawke's Bay, McKinnon's Bush near Wairoa, on damp bank, E.A. Hodgson ZA 3550 – CHR 37615 [fide Galloway (1985a: 29)].
Description : Flora (1985: 29 – as Bacidia buchananii)
Chemistry : 4,5-dichlorolichexanthone (= coronatone).
N: Northland (Taranga I., Little Barrier I., Great Barrier I., Tapu Bush N Kaipara), Auckland (Waitakere Ra.), South Auckland (Red Mercury I., Motuhora I., West Taupo, Waituhi Saddle), Wellington (Kapiti I.). S: Nelson (Cobb Valley, Aniseed Valley), Marlborough (Resolution Bay), Canterbury (Hundalee, Cass), Otago (Rees Valley, Mt Cargill, Ridley's Bush), Southland (Hunter Mts, Fiordland, Longwood Ra.). St: Widespread among bryophytes on bark of trees and shrubs, rarely on soil in shaded, humid, mainly lowland, forest habitats. Also occasionally overgrowing macrolichens (e.g. Pseudocyphellaria dissimilis). Known also from E Australia and Tasmania and Chile (Lamb 1954; Kantvilas & James 1991; Kantvilas 1994b; Kalb et al. 2000; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).
Austral
Illustrations : Knight (1875b: pl. XXV, figs 1–4 – as Stereocaulon buchanani); Knight (1880: tab. XII, fig. 22 – as Bacidia pedicellata; tab. XIII, fig. 35 – as Lecidea rhypoderma); Nylander (1888: tab.1, fig. 3 – as Lecidea subglobosa); Lamb (1954: 122, fig. 5 – as Bacidia (Eubacidia) buchanani).
Bapalmuia buchanani is characterised by: the muscicolous/corticolous habit; the thin, granular-effuse, powdery-furfuraceous, greyish to olivaceous thallus; scattered, sessile to subpedicellate apothecia, solitary to 2–3-confluent and becoming glomerulate, 0.5–2 mm diam., the disc pale- to dark-brown, immarginate; the pale yellow-brown hypothecium, 350 μm thick; 4–6(–8)-spored asci; and filiform, sinuous, 30–75-septate ascospores, 160–230 × 3.5–4 μm. It is very similar to the Brazilian endemic species B. lafayetteana (Vain.) Kalb & Lücking, differs from it in the larger ascospores with more numerous septa (Kalb et al. 2000: 287).
Prefacing his description of Stereocaulon buchanani, Stirton (1875a: 367) wrote: "A few days ago I received from Mr. J.Buchanan of the Colonial Museum, Wellington, a lichen which presents peculiarities of internal organization of sufficient importance to warrant a special notice. The lichen in question occupies an isolated position, and presents affinities to three genera, viz:- Gomphillus, Stereocaulon and Baeomyces. In the extreme length and tenuity of its spores, the former dimension reaching almost the limit, in this respect, amongst lichens; in the tenacious stiff gelatine which pervades the hymenium, and almost conceals the paraphyses until the application of liq. potassae, which softens if it does not dissolve this gelatine; as well as the presence of longitudinal cavities apart from the thecae, this lichen shows considerable affinities to the curious and anomalous genus Gomphillus. On the other hand the apothecia, in their external conformation and, more especially, in the fact that occasionally very short stipites are present, coated with granules, betray a manifest relationship to Stereocaulon, with which I have meanwhile united it. The relationship of this lichen to Baeomyces is less obvious, and, but for Dr Nylander's assertion, (Synop. p. 175) and a certain primâ facie resemblance, I would not have mentioned this genus as analogous, indeed in the light of the present plant I can assert, with considerable confidence, that Gomphillus has much stronger affinities to Stereocaulon than to Baeomyces. In plants such as the present it is extremely foolish to dogmatize in the matter of classification, and we are taught the lesson that nature is not to be cramped and confined by any such well defined limits as our modern classifiers would fain lead us to believe".
Charles Knight (1875b: 368–369) adds additional notes on the species, observing: "The valuable report of Dr Stirton on Buchanan's plant has been brought under my notice while it was passing through the press. The following notes – with the analysis made some years since – will be found useful. The plant has been named by Dr. Nylander (in a letter) Lecidea subglobosa [later validly published (Nylander 1888: 93)].
Dr. Stirton's notes follow pretty closely parts of Nylander's description of the genus Gomphillus Nyl. There is, however, an essential difference in the structure of the thallus from that of Gomphillus, which is overlooked by Dr. Stirton, but which is strongly in support of his view that the plant should be classified under the genus Stereocaulon. In Buchanan's lichen the thallus is made up of gonimia, as in Stereocaulon, instead of gonidia as in Gomphillus. Nylander's description of the genus Gomphillus would apply if 'gonimia' was substituted for 'gonidia', thus: 'Thallus tenuissimus, e gonimiis [gonidiis] mediocribus sphericis elementisque filamentoso-irregularibus gelatinose conglutenatis constans'. The paraphyses are indistinct only from their exquisite fineness and compactness; not, I think, from the 'tenacious stiff gelatine which pervades the hymenium'". Knight's reference to gonimia (i.e. to clusters of cyanobacterial cells) in the species was correctly shown by Lamb (1954: 123) to be a misrepresentation of the clustered micareoid algae, "conglomerated in clusters embedded in hyaline mucilage" (Lamb 1954: 122).
