Flora of New Zealand Series

Type : Byssoloma leprieurii Trevis. [=Biatora tricholoma Mont. (=Byssoloma tricholomum (Mont.) Zahlbr.)]

Description : Flora (1985: 53). See also Santesson (1952: 477–480) and Vězda (1987a: 72–73).

Byssoloma is a genus of c. 35 described species included in the family Pilocarpaceae (Eriksson et al. 2004; Pennycook & Galloway 2004; Erikkson 2005). Taxa are crustose and colonise living leaves, bark and rock and occur in both tropical and temperate regions, although foliicolous taxa are most common in the tropics (Santesson 1952; James 1971; Sérusiaux 1978, 1979c, 1989, 1995, 1998b; Vězda 1987a; Kalb & Vězda 1990, 1994b; Sipman 1991a; Vězda & Kalb 1991; Lücking 1992; Malcolm & Vězda 1995a; Aptroot et al. 1997; Farkas & Sipman 1997; Elix & McCarthy 1998). A characteristic of the genus is the byssoid or cobwebby margins of the apothecia [discussed further in Malcolm & Vězda (1995a: 357)]. All taxa are further characterised by: a crustose, ecorticate thallus; I+ blue hymenium; simple or only sparingly branched paraphyses; thick-walled, 8-spored asci of Byssoloma -type (Malcolm & Galloway 1997: 186); colourless septate ascopores, 9–30 × 2.5–6.5 μm; sessile, globose pycnidia containing simple, pyriform conidia. Several species of Byssoloma produce xanthones (Elix et al. 1995a). Two new saxicolous species were recently described from New Zealand (Malcolm & Vězda 1995a), these authors also providing notes on the genus and a key to the five species currently recognised from New Zealand