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Lichens (1985) - Flora of New Zealand Lichens
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Dermatocarpon Eschw.

DERMATOCARPON Eschw., 1824

Thallus squamulose or foliose, heteromerous, attached by rhizines below or by a central holdfast, saxicolous or terricolous, rarely corticolous. Photobiont green, Myrmecia, Hyalococcus or other genera. Perithecia simple, immersed, wall colourless or brown. Paraphyses gelatinised. Ascospores colourless, simple, ellipsoid, 8 per ascus.

Key

1
Thallus foliose, submonophyllous, congested, attached by a ± central holdfast
weberi
Thallus squamulose or ± crustose, spreading, not attached by a central holdfast
2
2
Crustose, verrucose, yellow-brown, on rock
insigne
Squamulose, on rock, bark or soil
3
3
Corticolous
psoromoides
On rock or soil
4
4
Thallus grey to brown-grey ± forming a crust on acid soils, perithecia with a brown wall
cinereum
Thallus brown to dark red-brown, squamulose, shell-like, on basic soils or on mortar, perithecia with a colourless wall
lachneum

Dermatocarpon, included in the family Verrucariaceae, is a cosmopolitan genus of c. 80 species found in temperate and desert areas. It is much in need of detailed taxonomic revision and its exact relationships with other similar genera such as Catapyrenium, Endocarpon and Verrucaria remain to be satisfactorily clarified. Five species from New Zealand are tentatively placed in Dermatocarpon pending further detailed collecting and study. In 19th century accounts of New Zealand lichens, species of Dermatocarpon were placed in Endocarpon and Endopyrenium as well as in Dermatocarpon.

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