Flora of New Zealand Series

Lectotype: New Zealand. Sine loco, (prob. Wellington). Charles Knight S77, WELT, Herb. Knight, Vol. 35A, p. 6!

Thallus 3-5 cm diam., whitish to pale olivaceous, thick, encrusting, shining ± varnish-like, continuous, to irregularly cracked, dimpled to irregular-verrucose. Apothecia numerous, crowded, 0.05-1.0 mm diam., blister-like, to globose and ± subpedicellate, distinctly white-frosted ± verruculose with age, apex flattened, pore very small, often obscured, at length opening to form a ± plane, expanded disc, surface of disc ± arachnoid-tomentose or farinose. Ascospores 1 per ascus, 10-12-septate, broadly ellipsoid, colourless to pale brownish at maturity, 90-140 × 17-30 µm. Chemistry: Nil.

N: Known only from the type collection but probably more widespread in coastal and lowland forest.

Endemic

T. farinaceum is easily recognised, and characterised by the encrusting thallus, which overgrows mosses and fern rhizomes on bark in humid habitats, and the ± subpedicellate apothecia, with the minutely verrucose-frosted covering to the disc.