Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Pannaria rubiginosa var. subcrustacea Räsänen, Ann. Bot. Soc. zool.-bot. fenn. Vanamo 21: 2 (1946).

Description : Thallus small-squamulose to crustose, closely appressed on a well-developed black, arachnoid prothallus, individual squamules flat, 2–3 mm diam., isodiametric, incised, ±discrete or adjacent. Margins slightly thickened and paler than upper surface. Upper surface grey to grey-brown, smooth. Lower surface whitish. Apothecia frequent, sessile, laminal, rounded to 1.5 mm diam.; disc brown to dark-brown, proper exciple obscured by the persistent, thick, ±crenulate thalline exciple. Hymenium I+ blue especially in region of asci. Asci subcylindrical, 90–100 × 10–15 μm, without any amyloid apical apparatus. Ascospores ellipsoidal, 10–15 × 7– 9 μm.

Chemistry : Ursolic acid and an unidentified terpene.

N: Northland (Three Kings Is, Great I. Castaway Valley Camp, D.J.Galloway 1970) on Kunzea ericoides. Also known from New Caledonia (the type is from Noumea) and northern Queensland (Jørgensen 2001b: 124; McCarthy 2003c, 2006). An epiphyte of trees in lowland, subtropical, coastal forest. P. subcrustacea is an epiphyte of Kunzea ericoides where it occurs sympatrically with P. elixii.

Australasian

Pannaria subcrustacea is readily recognised by: the corticolous habit; its crustose, microphylline thallus, the squamules dispersed on a thick black prothallus. It is the most crustose of any known species of Pannaria.