Flora of New Zealand Series

=Lecidea tararuensis Zahlbr., Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien math.-naturwiss. Kl. 104: 297 (1941).

=Lecidea sterilis Zahlbr., ["ad interim" (nom. inval.)] Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien math.-naturwiss. Kl. 104: 298 (1941).

=Lecidea triangularis H. Magn., Sv. Bot. Tidskr. 37: 284 (1943).

Lecidea tararuensis. Lectotype here designated: New Zealand. Wellington, Tararua Ra., Mt Dennan, c. 1200 m, on granitic rock, E. Chamberlain 192 – CHR 347068. Paratypes: Otago, Mt Kakanui, J.S. Thomson T 1432 [ZA 314] – CHR 347069, OTA 029408.

Lecidea sterilis. Holotype: New Zealand. Otago. Silver Peaks, on rock, iv.1934, J.S. Thomson T 1169 [ZA 282] – W. Isotypes – CHR 347062; OTA 029406.

Lecidea triangularis. Holotype: New Zealand. Otago, Cromwell on rocks near railway station [now inundated by Lake Dunstan], 17.iii.1927, G. Einar & Greta Du Rietz 2178a: 9 – UPS [Associated with Candelariella vitellina, Lecidella carpathica and Polysporina simplex].

Description : Thallus dispersed, cryptothalline cracked, verrucose or areolate, in irregular patches to 7 cm diam., Upper surface areolate, areolae irregularly angular to rounded, 0.3–1(–1.4) mm diam., white, grey or pale-brownish, plane to irregularly convex, rough to smooth or shining. Medulla I−. Apothecia round to irregular through mutual pressure, scattered to crowded, 0.5–1(–1.5) mm diam., sessile, constricted at base. Disc plane to convex, grey-black, matt to slightly shining, occasionally white-pruinose; margins distinct and slightly raised, flexuouse at first, later becoming occluded, black (rarely grey), matt to slightly shining. Hypothecium dark-brown, (50–)80–180(–300) μm thick, subhymenial layers reddish to hyaline, 15–30 μm thick. Hymenium 30–80(–100) μm tall hyaline to reddish, I+ bluish brown, epithecium black or greenish black, 7–15 μm thick. Asci 28–40 × 7–11 μm, tholus 3–11 μm thick. Ascospores oblong to oblong-ellipsoidal, (7–)9.5–11(–15) × 2.8– 4 μm. Pycnidia immersed. Conidia 6–7 × 1 μm.

Chemistry : Thallus K−, C−, KC−, Pd−; excipulum K− or + reddish, C−, Pd−; containing no detectable lichen compounds or rarely with traces of confluentic acid (Rambold 1989: 186).

N: Wellington (Tararua Ra.). S: Otago (Kakanui Mts, Old Man Ra., Poolburn, Silver Peaks). On hard greywacke to schist rock in alpine fellfield. Known also from Europe, Algeria, Angola, South Africa, Venezuela, Bolivia and Australia (Hertel 1984b, 1987b; Rambold 1989; McCarthy 2003c, 2006).

Cosmopolitan

Illustration : Rambold (1989: 186, fig. 19).

Lecidea sarcogynoides is characterised by: the saxicolous habit; the evanescent to non-existent thallus; a non-amyloid (I−) medulla; widely scattered, prominent, black apothecia; an olive-green to green-black epithecium, 10–15 μm thick; a pale greenish to hyaline hymenium, 50–80 (–100) μm tall; the thick, brown-black hypothecium 100–150 μm thick, hyaline in subhymenial layer; and the broadly ellipsoidal to subglobose ascospores, 10–12(–13.2) × 5–7 μm; and the absence of secondary compounds. L. capensis has similar anatomical characters, but differs mainly in thallus morphology (it has a shining, brown or brownish thallus) and chemistry (it has 2'- O -methylperlatolic acid).