Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. Auckland Is. Port Ross. On Suttonia australis in Metrosideros umbellata forest, 1927. G. Einar Du Rietz 2277: 3, S!

Thallus fruticose, in felt-like clumps on bark or twigs to 3 cm diam., flaccid and ± spongy when wet, brittle when dry. Branches terete, rather fragile, very fine at apices, stouter (to 0.2 mm wide) below, branching ± dichotomous, but densely tangled and complex in older parts. Surface of branches smooth or slightly wrinkled, blue-green or blackish at apices, bluish-brown or tan below. Photobiont Scytonema. Apothecia fre- quent, lateral, to 1.5 mm diam., disc reddish-brown, subconvex, immarginate. Ascospores polymorphic, 9-13 × 1.5-7 µm. Chemistry: Nil.

N: South Auckland (King Country). S: Nelson (Lake Rotoiti, Maruia Valley), Westland (near Westport), Canterbury (Boyle River, Peel Forest). A: On twigs and bark (especially of Dracophyllum and Leptospermum, in moderately shaded humid habitats.

Endemic

P. contortum although not collected frequently seems characteristic of successional vegetation in areas of warm, moist conditions with adequate light. It associates with the following lichens: Degelia gayana, Erioderma sorediatum, Pannaria fulvescens, Parmeliella amphibola, Physma chilense and Pseudocyphellaria hookeri.