Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. Canterbury, Governor's Bush, Mt Cook National Park, on peeling bark of Nothofagus menziesii, c. 800 m, 12.iii.1971, H.D. Wilson 1970 – CHR 260683.

Description : Flora (1985: 284–285).

Chemistry : Medulla K−, C−, KC+ pink, Pd−, UV+ vivid ice-blue; comprising two chemodemes: (1) containing alectoronic and UV− unidentified compounds; and (2) alectoronic and α-collatollic acids and UV− unidentified compounds (different from those in chemodeme 1).

N: Wellington (Whakapapa, Mt Ruapehu, York Bay). S: Nelson to Fiordland, inland and E of or close to the Main Divide from lat. 42ºS, Banks Peninsula and coastal Otago (3 Mile Hill, Dunedin) and Southland. A: On bark of trees and shrubs at forest margins or in grassland, s.l. to 1000 m.

Endemic

Menegazzia lucens is characterised by: the corticolous habit; the 2-spored asci; the granular epithecium; the often distinctly wrinkled–crumpled upper surface; and the UV+ vivid ice-blue medulla (alectoronic acid). It is possible that two separate species may be involved here since the West Coast populations (South I.) are chemodeme 1 and have predominantly digitate–adventitious lobules arising from the main lobes. Menegazzia ultralucens is the sorediate counterpart of chemodeme 2.