Xanthoparmelia sorediata
≡Chondropsis sorediata Elix & P.Child, Brunonia 9: 113 (1987).
Description : Thallus foliose, loose on soil, pale-yellow to pale yellow-green, becoming pale olive-green with age, forming rosettes 1–2 cm in diam., (when wet and expanded), rolling up into convex clumps or balls when dry, 0.5–1 cm diam. Lobes linear-elongate, 1–2 mm wide, dichotomously branched, discrete, not imbricate, apices rounded, curling inwards when dry exposing the lower surface. Upper surface often shining, smooth, weakly maculate (×10 lens), sorediate, the apices (rarely the margins) becoming swollen and developing terminal, sublabriform soralia, the soredia farinose, yellow-white. Medulla white. Lower surface rarely shallowly canaliculate in part, pale-yellow to dull buff, minutely wrinkled, without rhizines. Apothecia very rare, sessile to subpedicellate, 0.5–2.0 mm diam., disc shallowly concave, reddish brown, thalline exciple smooth or becoming sorediate, concolorous with thallus. Ascospores ellipsoidal, colourless, 5–6 × 2.5 μm.
Chemistry : Cortex K−; medulla K+ pale-brown, C−, Pd+ orange-red; containing usnic acid, fumarprotocetraric acid, succinprotocetraric acid and protocetraric acid (tr.).
S: Canterbury (Mackenzie Country), Otago (Central Otago in the catchments of the Clutha and Waitaki rivers). On bare, eroded soil in open grassland heavily grazed by sheep and rabbits where it is often associated with the lichens: Cladia aggregata, Diploschistes muscorum ssp. bartlettii, Siphula coriacea, Xanthoparmelia concomitans, X. molliuscula, X. reptans, X. semiviridis and X. flavescentireagens, 640–700 m. Known also from Australia (Elix & Child 1987; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).
Australasian
Illustration : Elix & Child (1987: 114, fig. 1).
Xanthoparmelia sorediata is distinguished from X. semiviridis by its deeper, duller colour and the presence of soralia. The two taxa are sympatric but of the two, X. sorediata is much more rare and scattered.
