Flora of New Zealand Series

Type : Catillaria chalybeia (Borrer) A.Massal. [=Lecidea chalybeia Borrer]

Description : Thallus crustose, immersed, evanescent to persistent, areolate or verruculose, granular or powdery, whitish, greyish, greenish to brown-black, without a marginal prothallus. Photobiont green, chlorococcoid (cf. Dictyochloropsis, Myrmecia or Trebouxia). Ascomata apothecia, dark-brown to black, epruinose. Thalline exciple absent. Proper exciple well developed, of branched, radiating hyphae. Hamathecium of paraphyses, simple or sparingly branched, septate, apices abruptly swollen, with a dark-brown apical cap or surrounded by a pigmented hood. Asci 8(–16)-spored, subcylindrical to clavate, with an I+ blue outer coat and a uniformly blue apical dome (Catillaria -type). Ascospores 1-septate, colourless. Conidiomata pycnidia immersed, inconspicuous. Conidia ellipsoidal to bacillar, simple, colourless.

Catillaria, is a widespread genus of c. 150 species (Vainio 1933; Santesson 1952: 428–429; Pant & Awasthi 1989; Kilias 1981; Hafellner 1984; Coppins 1989c, 1992f) and is included in the family Catillariaceae (Hafellner 1984; Kirk et al. 2001; Eriksson et al. 2004; Pennycook & Galloway 2004; Eriksson 2005). The species of Catillaria as defined by Kilias (1981), Hafellner (1984: 271–272) and Coppins (1989c: 217; 1992f: 166), are united by the following characters: lecideine ascomata; asci in K/I with a uniformly amyloid apical dome – Catillaria -type (Hafellner 1984: 271, fig. 17; Malcolm & Galloway 1997: 186); colourless, non-halonate, 1-septate ascospores; simple or occasionally furcate paraphyses with abruptly swollen, dark-brown apical caps; and pleurogenous, simple, short, bacillar conidia. Halecania M.Mayrhofer (M. Mayrhofer 1987, 1988) shares these characters except for the distinctly halonate ascospores. Until relatively recently, Catillaria was commonly a repository for widely divergent taxa, united only by 1-septate ascospores (esp. Zahlbruckner 1926: 10–86). However, taxa formerly included in Catillaria are now accommodated elsewhere, in the genera Fellhanera, Megalaria, Halecania and Stirtoniella. Other crustose genera with Lecidea- like ascomata and at least some species with colourless, 1-septate ascospores include: Absconditella, Arthonia, Bacidia (immature), Cliostomum, Dimerella, Fellhanera, Fuscidea, Lecania, Lecidea (a few overmature spores), Micarea and Tylothallia (Coppins 1992f: 166). Catillaria is still very much undercollected and poorly understood in New Zealand. In the Flora treatment (Galloway 1985a: 74–80) 11 species are discussed, all of which are now referred elsewhere (C. bouteillei to Fellhanera; C. kelica to Stirtoniella and the remainder to Megalaria). Three species are currently known from New Zealand but the genus is in need of serious study and collection here.