Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Ricasolia herbacea f. adscripta Nyl., Flora 48: 299 (1865).

≡Ricasolia herbacea var. adscripta (Nyl.) Nyl., Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 9: 248 (1866).

≡Sticta adscripta (Nyl.) Müll.Arg., Nouv. Giorn. Bot. Ital. 24: 193 (1892).

=Sticta efflorescens Zahlbr., Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien math.-naturwiss. Kl. 104: 288 (1941).

Lectotype: New Zealand. Otago, Saddle Hill Bush, Dunedin, x.1861, W.L. Lindsay – H-NYL 3314 [fide Galloway (1981b: 319)]. Isolectotype – E.

Sticta efflorescens. Holotype: New Zealand. Otago, Abbott's Hill, Dunedin, J.S. Thomson 13A, viii.1933, on Griselinia littoralis – W. Isotypes – CHR, OTA.

Description : Flora (1985: 257–258).

Chemistry : Cortex K−; medulla K−, C+ red, KC+ red, Pd−; containing gyrophoric acid.

N: Northland (Little Barrier I.) southwards. S: Nelson (Lake Rotoiti) both E and W of Main Divide and inland, to Southland. St: In forested areas, s.l. to 900 m, more common E of the Main Divide. L. adscripta is a large foliose lichen, epiphytic on trees and shrubs in beech forest, mixed podocarp–beech forest and in coastal podocarp forest or forest remnants. It is often well-developed on the bark of Griselinia littoralis. Occasionally it will colonise rocks in humid situations. Primarily a light-loving species it will also tolerate moderate shade but does not occur deep in forest interiors.

Endemic

Exsiccati : Vězda (1997d: No. 297).

Illustrations : Martin & Child (1972: 76, pl. 11; 114, pl. 26); Galloway (1981b: 320, fig. 10); Malcolm & Galloway (1997: 81, 117, 121).

Lobaria adscripta is similar in habit to the Northern Hemisphere species L. virens (Degelius 1935; Jordan 1973; Purvis 1992b) but is distinguished from this species on spore characters (those of L. virens are nearly always 1-septate and smaller than those of L. adscripta), a thicker, more coriaceous and less papery thallus, differences in internal cephalodia (Jordan 1970) – those in L. adscripta are visible on both upper and lower surfaces, whereas those in L. virens are not readily apparent and often need sectioning of the thallus for their determination; and a different chemistry (L. virens lacks gyrophoric acid). Superficially L. adscripta resembles Sticta subcaperata, and in places these two taxa may be co-dominant. The presence of cyphellae on the lower surface of S. subcaperata easily distinguishes it from L. adscripta, and when fertile, the discs of S. subcaperata are bright yellow-orange and not red-brown as in L. adscripta.