Cladia blanchonii
Family
Cladoniaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Fruticose
Current conservation status
2018 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: DP
Distribution
Widespread in New Zealand.
Also found in Tasmania and south-eastern continental Australia.
Habitat
Mostly specimens have been found on mossy soil and rocky outcrops.
Detailed description
Characterised by inflated and tapered sterile pseudopodetia, with glossy, pale yellow to greenish brown surface, mostly dichotomously branched toward the apex. Perforations rare to abundant. Fertile pseudopodetia robust and either inflated or not, and racemosely branched. Perforations abundant. Conidiomata on terminal branches of sterile pseudopodetia, conidia 5–7.5 μm long, bacilliform. Apothecia on short terminal branches of fertile pseudopodetia, 0.5–1.0 mm wide, disk concave to plane, brownish black; ascospores ellipsoid, non-septate, hyaline, 6.25–7.50 × 2.5 μm, 8 per ascus. Secondary chemistry: Barbatic acid and 4-O-demethylbarbatic acid.
Similar taxa
Several other taxa in the Cladia aggregata group look similar (e.g. Cladia gorgonea). Separation based on morphology alone can be difficult. Parnmen et al. (2013) state: “The majority of species in this complex are primarily cryptic, since morphological and chemical characters show some degree of plasticity within at least some of the clades. However, phenotypical characters are not randomly distributed among clades. Hence, the species can often be characterized by a combination of several phenotypical characters.”
Substrate
Terricolous (on soil), saxicolous
Etymology
blanchonii: Named after the New Zealand lichenologist, Dan Blanchon, who collected the type material of this species.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Melissa Hutchison (13 August 2021). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, Features and Similar taxa sections copied from Parnmen et al. (2013).
References and further reading
Parnmen S., Leavitt S.D., Rangsiruji A. and Lumbsch H.T. 2013: Identification of species in the Cladia aggregata group using DNA barcoding (Ascomycota: Lecanorales). Phytotaxa 115(1): 1–14.