Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. Auckland Is, Terror Cove, on Cassinia, 10.i.1963, P.W. James NZ 1032/1 – BM000761543.

Description : Thallus firmly attached, in small rosettes to 6 cm diam. Lobes 0.8–3 mm wide, inflated, continuous from centre to margins, with few to numerous, toe-like to finger-like sympodial lobules, to 1.1 cm long. Upper surface convex, pale, blackened centrally, and slightly at margins, pale-brown at tips, glossy, especially at apices, slightly corrugate centrally, emaculate, epruinose, sorediate. Perforations scattered, often minute, 0.1–1.0 mm wide, round to ellipsoidal, often slightly conical, margins flat or elevated, often sorediate. Soralia to 2.1 mm diam, mainly convex, becoming oval, not much raised, occasionally clustered, often associated with perforations and becoming crescent-shaped around perforation; soredia granular, white. Lower surface dark-brown to black, eperforate. Medullary cavity white on both upper and lower surfaces, with a few, inconspicuous pale-yellow spots. Apothecia central, sessile to subpedicellate, rounded, to 2.5 mm diam.; disc subconcave to plane, dark-brown, glossy, epruinose. Thalline exciple concolorous with thallus, smooth, glossy, soon becoming sorediate. Hymenium pale-brown; epithecium, red-brown. Asci 2-spored, 55–60 × 30–35 μm. Ascospores ellipsoidal, 26–32 × 14–18 μm; wall 2–3 μm thick. Pycnidia not seen.

Chemistry : Thallus K+ yellow to brownish, C−, KC−, PD+ red; containing fumarprotocetraric acid (major), atranorin (tr.), an unidentified compound and up to three unidentified triterpenoids.

S: Otago (Kinloch). A: (Terror Cove, Ranui Cove). On bark of Cassinia leptophylla and Myrsine divaricata in scrub belt, associating with M. caliginosa and M. ultralucens (Bjerke 2004c).

Illustrations : Bjerke (2004c: 46, fig. 1A–C).

Menegazzia hypernota is characterised by: the corticolous habit; the fabiform to crescent-shaped soralia, sometimes associated with perforations; the numerous secondary lobules; inconspicuous yellow spots in the medullary cavity; apothecia with 2-spored asci; ascospores ellipsoidal, 26–32 × 14–18 μm; wall 2–3 μm thick; and fumarprotocetraric acid as the major medullary compound.