Flora of New Zealand Series

≡Lecidea grossa Pers ex Nyl., Acta Soc. Lin. Bordeaux 21: 385 (1856).

≡Catinaria grossa (Pers ex Nyl.) Vain., Acta Soc. Fauna Fl. fenn. 53 (1): 143 (1922).

=Lecidea corroborans Stirt., Proc. phil. Soc. Glasgow 10: 298 (1877).

≡Patellaria corroborans (Stirt.) Müll.Arg., Bull. Herb. Boissier 2, App. 1: 64 (1894).

≡Biatorina corroborans (Stirt.) Hellb., Bihang K. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl. 21 (3/13): 108 (1896).

≡Catillaria corroborans (Stirt.) Zahlbr., Cat. lich. univ. 4 (1): 35 (1926).

=Lecidea melaclina Nyl., Lich. Nov. Zel.: 88 (1888).

≡Patellaria melaclina (Nyl.) Müll.Arg., Bull. Herb. Boissier 2, App. 1: 48 (1894).

≡Biatorina melaclina (Nyl.) Hellb., Bihang K. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl. 21 (3/13): 109 (1896).

≡Catillaria melaclina (Nyl.) Zahlbr., Cat. lich. univ. 4 (1): 20 (1926).

=Lecidea melastegia Nyl., Lich., Nov. Zel.: 88 (1888).

≡Biatorina melaclina * melastegia (Nyl.) Hellb., Bihang K. Sv. Vet.-Akad. Handl. 21 (3/13): 109 (1896).

≡Catillaria melastegia (Nyl.) Zahlbr. in C. Skottsberg, The Natural History of Juan Fernandez and Easter I. 2 (Bot.), 3 (11): 362 (1924).

=Catillaria weinmanniae Zahlbr., Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien math.-naturwiss. Kl. 104: 312 (1941).

=Catillaria intermixta var. pallescens Zahlbr., Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien math.-naturwiss. Kl. 104: 315 (1941).

=Catillaria melaclina f. areniseda Zahlbr., Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien math.-naturwiss. Kl. 104: 312 (1941).

Lecidea corroborans. Type: New Zealand. Near Wellington, J.Buchanan – ?GLAM not seen.

Lecidea melaclina. Lectotype: New Zealand. Sine loco (prob. Wellington), 1867, Charles Knight 109 – H-NYL 18195 [fide Galloway (1985a: 76)].

Catillaria weinmanniae. Type: New Zealand. Otago, Akatore, on Weinmannia racemosa, G. Simpson 140 – W, not seen.

Catillaria intermixta var. pallescens. Type: New Zealand. Otago, Flagstaff Hill, J.S. Thomson ZA 266 – W, not seen.

Catillaria melaclina f. areniseda. Type: New Zealand. Southland, Conical Hills, G.B. Rawlings G51 – W, not seen.

Description : Flora (1985: 75–76 – as Catillaria corroborans; 81).

Chemistry : TLC−, all reactions negative.

N: Northland to Wellington. S: Canterbury to Fiordland. St: C: Widely distributed on bark and twigs of smooth-barked trees and shrubs in lowland forest, especially on Griselinia littoralis and Hoheria, s.l. to 300 m. Known from the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Scandinavia (where it is red-listed; Arup et al. 1997), North America, Chile, Argentina, Norfolk I., and Australia (Purvis et al. 1992; Nimis 1993; Esslinger & Egan 1995; Filson 1996; Elix & McCarthy 1998; Galloway & Quilhot 1999; Scholz 2000; Brodo et al. 2001; Calvelo & Liberatore 2001; Coppins 2002b; McCarthy 2003c, 2006; Nimis & Martellos 2003).

Cosmopolitan

Illustrations : Hafellner (1984: 303, fig. 48); Foucard (1990: pl. 85 – as Catinaria grossa); Dobson (1992: 200; 2000: 227; 2005: 258); Arup et al. (1997: fig. 77E); Malcolm & Galloway (1997: 75); Boqueras (2000: 264, fig. 38); Lumbsch et al. (2001: 15).

Megalaria grossa is characterised by: the corticolous habit; the olive greenish, to creamish buff, areolate, roughened–granular to verrucose thallus; large black apothecia with prominent, flexuous, concolorous proper exciple; an olive-green to blue-black epithecium to 22 μm thick with crytals and oil droplets; a colourless hymenium to 150 μm tall; a thick, blue-black or brown-black hypothecium, 200–250 μm thick; simple paraphyses capitate at their apices; and moderately thick-walled, colourless ascospores(17–)20–34(–38) × 10–14(–18) μm.