Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Lecidea caesioatra Schaer., Naturw. Anzeiger der allgem. Schweiz. Ges. Gesammt. Naturw. II: 10 (1818).

Description : Thallus rather thick, of densely crowded, subglobose, isidioid, nodular or papillate granules, 0.1–0.2 mm diam., grey to dark-grey or blackish, eroding whitish or with a violet tinge, without a marginal prothallus, developed in patches 1–3 cm diam., on living Andreaea. Apothecia sessile or subimmersed in granules, (0.3–)0.5–1(–1.2) mm diam., convex, sometimes conglomerate–tuberculate, bluish black with a blue-grey bloom (×10 lens), especially when moist; proper exciple reflexed, colourless to dull yellowish in section, of radiating conglutinated hyphae. Epithecium bright blue-green, K−. Hymenium 60–90 μm tall, colourless below, blue-green above. Hypothecium hyaline to reddish brown to almost violet, K+ reddish orange. Paraphyses strongly conglutinated 1.5–2 μm thick, simple or sparsely branched, apices not swollen. Asci 50–60 × 15–20 μm. Ascospores ellipsoidal (12–)15–19(–24) × 5–7(–9) μm. Pycnidia immersed or semi-immersed, globose to subpyriform, apically pigmented. Conidia filiform, 15–25 × 0.7– 1 μm.

Chemistry : Thallus K+ weakly yellow, C−, KC+ orange, Pd− ; containing sphareophorin (major), thiophanic acid (minor) and atranorin (minor) (Kalb 1994b; Sipman et al. 1998; Knoph & Leuckert 1999).

S: Otago (St Marys Ra., Awakino Skifield, Kakanui Mts, Mt Pisgah, Old Man Ra. S end above Waikaia Bush Road, Upper Styx, Rock & Pillar Ra.). On shaded side of loose greywacke boulders in boulder-fields and screes; on sloping schist blocks in alpine grassland, among cushions of the mosses Andreaea and Racomitrium lanuginosum and apparently parasitic on these (see Poelt 1985: 247), in exposed, high-alpine sites at bases of tors and in snowbanks or areas of late snow-lie (Galloway 2003b). Still very poorly known and collected here, but should be looked for in snow-bank vegetation. Associating with the lichens Bartlettia fragilis, Caloplaca tornoensis, Lecidella wulfenii, Lepraria neglecta, Megaspora verrucosa, Pseudephebe pubescens, Rhizocarpon grande, Rinodina olivaceobrunnea, Tetramelas confusus. According to Kalb (1994b: 584), Frutidella caesioatra belongs to the alpine association Caloplacetum nivalis (Kalb 1970: 81–82). It is an arctic-alpine species known also from Great Britain, the European Alps, Scandinavia, Svalbard, Greenland and North America, Australia (Victoria), South Georgia, South Orkney Is, South Shetland Is and Antarctica (Vainio 1933; Kalb 1970; Poelt 1985; Hertel & Rambold 1988; Purvis et al. 1992; Nimis 1993; Santesson 1993; Kalb 1994b; Wirth 1995a; Esslinger & Egan 1995; Elvebakk & Hertel 1997; Thomson 1997; Sipman et al. 1998; Gilbert 2000; Hansen 2000; Scholz 2000; Hafellner & Türk 2001; Øvstedal & Lewis Smith 2001; Coppins 2002b; McCarthy 2003c, 2006; Nimis & Martellos 2003; Santesson et al. 2004).

Bipolar

Illustrations : Hertel & Rambold (1988: 301, fig. 23 – as Lecidea caesioatra); Foucard (1990: pl. 177 – as Lecidea caesioatra); Kalb (1994b: 583, fig. 1).

Frutidella caesioatra is characterised by: the muscicolous/saxicolous habit; the crowded, clustered pale greyish white, nodular, isidioid or papillate thallus, developing in spreading patches on living Andreaea; the scattered, convex to tuberculate–conglomerate, bluish black to greyish apothecia, with a fine, grey-blue bloom; Bacidia -type asci; simple, non-halonate ascospores; and sphaerophorin and thiophanic acid as secondary compounds.