Bacidia De Not.

Lichens (1985) - Flora of New Zealand Lichens

BACIDIA de Not., 1846

Thallus heteromerous, crustose to ± squamulose, microphylline or effuse, with or without a pale or dark marginal prothallus. Photobiont green ? Trebouxia. Apothecia sessile, rounded or ± irregular, lecideine, excipulum well developed of para- or prosoplectenchymatous tissue. Paraphyses simple or branched. Ascus thick-walled, 8-spored. Ascospores long, filiform, acicular to ellipsoid, straight or curved, 2- or more septate, thin-walled, colourless. Pycnidia sessile, ± globose to urceolate. Conidiophores simple with apically formed conidia. Conidia simple or septate, filiform to ellipsoid or oblong, bacillar or acicular.

Key

Saxicolous

Corticolous or foliicolous

On soil or among mosses

On rock

Thallus granular-papillate, white, spores 5-7 septate

sabuletorum

Thallus filmy, olivaceous, spores 3-septate

allotropa

Apothecia pale orange-brown or red-brown

subcerina

Apothecia black or brown-black

Apothecia black, spores 4-5-septate, 32×11 µm

plesia

Apothecia brown-black, spores 3-septate 14-18 × 4-6 µm

tholera

Foliicolous

Corticolous

Apothecia orange-yellow, spores 3-7-septate, 20-40 × 1.5-2 µm

apiahica

Apothecia brown, spores 3-5-septate, 12-18 × 3-4 µm

subundulata

Apothecia black

Apothecia grey, yellow, pink, red-brown or brown

Spores spiral in ascus, 10-18-septate

wellingtonii

Spores straight, 3-9-septate

Thallus dark olivaceous, apothecia 0.05-0.02 mm diam., spores 30-38 × 3-3.5 µm

minutissima

Thallus grey-white to glaucous-grey, apothecia 0.2-1.5 mm diam., spores 35-65 × 4-5 µm

albidoplumbea

Apothecia grey-pruinose

leucothalamia

Apothecia epruinose

Apothecia yellow or orange-yellow

Apothecia brown, red-brown or pinkish

Spores spiral

leucocarpa

Spores straight or slightly curved

Spores 3-septate, 8-16 × 6-9 µm

albicerata

Spores 3-6(-8)-septate, 24-34(-39) × 1.7-2.5(-3.5) µm

superula

Apothecia sessile to subpedicellate

Apothecia ± innate, never subpedicellate

Apothecia pinkish or orange-brown

albidoprasina

Apothecia brown or red-brown

Apothecia brown, distinctly subpedicellate, spores 30-75-septate

buchananii

Apothecia red-brown, sessile, spores 7-16-septate

laurocerasi

Thallus ± isidiate, spores 3-7-septate, 34-41 × 1.7-2.5 µm

glomerulosa

Thallus verrucose, glebose, not isidiate, spores 7-18-septate, 70-87 × 3.2-3.5 µm

macrospora

Bacidia is a heterogeneous assemblage of c. 400 species of wide distribution. According to Santesson [ Symb. bot. upsal. 12: 436-440 (1952)] the currently accepted delimitation of the genus, that of Zahlbruckner [ In Engler and Prantl, Die Natürlich. Pflanzenfam. I(1): 135 (1905)] viz., species in the Lecideaceae having a crustose thallus and colourless, thinwalled spores with two or more transverse septa, is not a natural grouping. Relationships with genera such as Catillaria, Catinaria, Lopadium, Scoliciosporum and Toninia remain to be clarified. Species of Bacidia may be foliicolous, corticolous or saxicolous and taxa with each of these habits are known in New Zealand. Lamb [ Rhodora 56: 121-124 (1954)] gives useful information on relationships of the genus.*

Over 60 species are recorded from New Zealand but the genus has never been the subject of critical study since Knight's paper [ T.N.Z.I. 12: 370-374 (1880)] where 19 new species are described. Zahlbruckner [ Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien math.-naturwiss. K1. 104: 316-319 (1941)] described 8 new species mainly from South I., based on collections of J.S. Thomson (CHR, OTA, W) but did not revise the genus for New Zealand. The present account which discusses 19 taxa, is not a critical revision, but rather a preliminary evaluation of available type specimens with some ordering of obvious synonyms. Much detailed collecting remains to be done before the genus in this country is adequately known and it is likely that some taxa placed here in Bacidia will eventually be accommodated in other genera.

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* Dr J. Hafellner (Graz) suggests that foliicolous taxa in Bacidia be included in the family Byssolomataceae (pers. comm.)

Bacidia De Not.

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