Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Lecidea ammiospila Wahlenb. in E. Acharius, Methodus, Suppl.: 13 (1803).

=Caloplaca cinnamomea (Th.Fr.) H.Olivier, Mém. Soc. Sci. nat. Cherbourg 37: 137 (1909).

≡Caloplaca ferruginea var. cinnamomea Th.Fr., Nova Acta Reg. Soc. Scient. Upsal. ser. 3, 3: 223 (1861).

Description : Flora (1985: 64 – as Caloplaca cinnamomea).

Chemistry : Apothecial discs K+ violet-red; containing emodin, parietin, xanthorin, fallacinal, chloremodin, fragilin (Santesson 1970: 2151).

N: Gisborne (Mt Hikurangi). S: Nelson to Canterbury (Temple Basin Arthur's Pass), Otago (Ocean Peak Humboldt Mts, Old Man Ra., Rock & Pillar Ra.), Southland (Lake Roe, Fiordland). Mainly E of the Main Divide, 1500–3000 m, parasitising mosses (especially species of Andreaea) or on dead moss and/or plant debris in alpine to high-alpine zones. An arctic-alpine species in the Northern Hemisphere (Magnusson 1944b; Kalb 1976; Thomson 1979; Hansen et al. 1987a; Søchting 1989; Søchting et al. 1992; Laundon 1992; Nimis 1993; Santesson 1993; Esslinger & Egan 1995; Søchting & Olech 1995; Elvebakk & Hertel 1997; Scholz 2000; Llimona & Hladun 2001; Nimis & Martellos 2003; Santesson et al. 2004; Obermayer 2004). In the Southern Hemisphere it is known from Chile, the South Orkney Is, the South Shetland Is and the Antarctic Peninsula (Magnusson 1944b; Søchting & Øvstedal 1992; Galloway & Quilhot 1999; Øvstedal & Lewis Smith 2001; Søchting et al. 2004).

Bipolar

Illustrations : Hansen (1995: 81); Malcolm & Galloway (1997: 96 – as Caloplaca cinnamomea).

Caloplaca ammiospila is characterised by: the muscicolous habit; the insignificant or scattered, pale whitish grey, granular thallus; the small (0.2–0.6 mm, rarely to 1 mm diam.), crowded, rounded to irregular apothecia with cinnabar-red to rust-red or red-brown, roughened to slightly pruinose discs that contrast strongly with the dark leaves of the host moss; slightly raised, convex, shining proper margin paler than or concolorous with disc; thalline margin thin, concolorous with thallus or somewhat greyish below and excluded in old fruits; ascospores 13–15(–17) × 6.5–7.5 μm, with a thick septum, 3.5–5(–7) μm. It is distinguished from C. tornoënsis by the colour and arrangement of the apothecial discs, and the colour of the apothecial margin (always persistent, glossy, black or grey-black in C. tornoënsis), and from C. nivalis by the colour and arrangement of the disc size and nature of the ascospores (simple, narrow, ellipsoidal or soleiform, 25–30 × 3.5 μm). Lichens, including species of Caloplaca, parasitising high-alpine mosses are discussed by Poelt & Doppelbaur (1956) and Poelt (1958a, 1985).