Flora of New Zealand Series

Holotype: New Zealand. Campbell I., large rocks at summit of Mt Faye, 352 m, 19.i.1970, H.A. Imshaug 47340 – MSC.

Description : Thallus delimited, placodioid, 5–10 cm diam., deeply rimose–areolate, with areolae 1–4 mm wide, ochraceous, rather glossy in younger parts, without a prothallus; 0.1–1.2 mm thick; cortex 35–75 μm thick. Apothecia lirellate, in ±stellate clusters, 1.5–4 mm diam., innate within the areolae, or with margins slightly raised above thallus surface; lirellae elongate, serpentine and often branched, to 2 mm long and c. 0.1–0.2 mm wide, black; disc slit-like, bordered by a black margin (upper exciple), which is in turn sometimes bordered by a thin, white zone of thallus cortex. Exciple cupular, dark red-brown, K+ brown-red, N−, 5–70 μm thick at base, 40–60 μm thick laterally and 80–100 μm thick at apex. Hymenium 95–150 μm tall, without a well-defined epithecium, colourless, I+ blue. Hypothecium not well delimited from hymenium, 50–60 μm thick, colourless or pale brown-red. Paraphyses richly branched and anastomosing, distinctly moniliform throughout, 2–3 μm wide. Asci clavate, 85–115 × 20–30 μm, 8-spored. Ascospores ellipsoidal, transversely 3-septate, or more usually submuriform with diagonal septa and 3–6 cells in optical section, 14–19 × 8–9 μm. Pycnidia not seen.

Chemistry : TLC−, all reactions negative.

C: Known only from the type locality. Growing on a fine-grained siliceous rock with a microphyllous species of Parmeliella (Coppins & Fryday 2006: 101).

Endemic

Illustration : Coppins & Fryday (2006: 100, fig. 5).

Lithographa serpentina is characterised by: the saxicolous habit; the thick, delimited ochraceous thallus with large clusters of lirellate apothecia; moniliform paraphyses; and submuriform ascospores, 14–19 × 8–9 μm.