Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Verrucaria badia Hoffm., Dtschl. Fl. 2: 182 (1796).

≡Lecanora badia (Hoffm.) Ach., Lichenogr. universalis: 407 (1810).

Description : Thallus cracked, areolate, warty, in spreading patches or in mosaics with other encrusting lichens, 2–8(–20) cm diam., to 2–2.5 mm thick, sometimes delimited by a thin, black prothallus. Areolae rounded to irregular, dark-brown, pale-brown to grey-brown, glossy, subconvex to convex, 0.5–1.5 mm diam. Medulla I−. Apothecia rounded, ±central, crowded, sessile, constricted at base. Disc plane to convex, glossy, concolorous with thallus or darker, epruinose. Thalline exciple pale-brownish, or concolorous with thallus, glossy, persistent. Hypothecium colourless. Hymenium 60–80 μm tall, I+ blue; epithecium brown, 15 μm thick. Asci 35–60 × 12–16 μm, tholus 0.3 μm thick, I+ blue-brown, masse axiale 2.5–5 μm broad, amyloid zone above masse axiale not apparent. Ascospores oblong-ellipsoidal, 10–12 × 3.5–4.5 μm. Pycnidia immersed, scattered. Conidia cylindrical, 6–9 × 0.8–1.2 μm.

Chemistry : Cortex and medulla K−, C−, KC+ pink, Pd−; containing lobaric acid, ±zeorin.

S: Nelson (Mt Aorere, Cobb Knob), Canterbury (Arthur's Pass, Cass, Mt Peel), Otago (Poolburn, Old Man Ra., Gem Lake Umbrella Mts, Rock & Pillar Ra., Swampy Spur Dunedin). On high-alpine schist and greywacke rocks in exposed sites on flat schist slabs in grassland, where it often reaches a considerable size (to 20 cm diam, or more), as well as on the roofs and floors of dry underhangs. In exposed sites it associates with Aspicilia spp., Immersaria athroocarpa, Lecidea fuscoatrula, L. lygomma, Porpidia macrocarpa and both yellow and non-yellow species of Rhizocarpon. In underhangs it commonly associates with Lecanora bicincta, L. cavicola, L. rupicola, L. swartzii and Rhizocarpon grande. Widespread in montane to alpine habitats (rarely also from coastal sites) in Great Britain, Europe, Scandinavia, Iceland, the Himalaya, Japan, North America, South America, Papua New Guinea and Australia (Hertel 1971a; Hafellner 1984; Nimis & Poelt 1987; Rambold 1989; Miyawaki 1991; Coppins 1992i; Poelt & Grube 1992; Nimis 1993; Santesson 1993; Esslinger & Egan 1995; Henssen 1995b; Filson 1996; Aptroot et al. 1997; Galloway & Quilhot 1999; Brodo et al. 2001; Aptroot 2002e; Coppins 2002b; McCarthy 2003c, 2006; Nimis & Martellos 2003; Santesson et al. 2004; Ryan et al. 2004c: 427–428).

Cosmopolitan

Illustrations : Ozenda & Clauzade (1970: 584, fig. 481 – as Lecanora badia); Jahns (1980: 199, fig. 451 – as Lecanora badia); Hansen (1982: 25, fig. 10 – as Lecanora badia; 1995: 92); Moberg & Holmåsen (1982: 112 – as Lecanora badia); Hafellner (1984: 293, fig. 40); Wirth (1987: 394; 1995b: 777); Dobson (1992: 280, 281; 2000: 323; 2005: 366); Poelt & Grube (1992: 384, fig. 1; 388, fig. 2A); Henssen (1995b: 57, figs 1–4; 58, figs 5–9; 59, figs 10–14); Malcolm & Galloway (1997: 124, 186); Brodo et al. (2001: 587, pl. 709); Lumbsch et al. (2001: 27); Kantvilas et al. (2002: 4, 141); Pope (2005: 59).

Protoparmelia badia is characterised by: the saxicolous habit; the dark-brown to grey-brown, often glossy, warty, hummocky areolate thallus; the crowded sessile, distinctly marginate apothecia with a plane to convex, glossy disc, concolorous with thallus or darker; the I− medulla; the colourless hypothecium; oblong-ellipsoidal ascospores, 10–12 × 3.5–4.5 μm; and a chemistry of lobaric acid and ±zeorin.