Cladonia corymbescens
Family
Cladoniaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Fruticose
Current conservation status
2018 | Data Deficient | Qualifiers: SO
Distribution
Three Kings Islands: (Raoul Island). North Island: Northland (Te Paki), Auckland (Waitakere Ranges) to South Auckland (Kaimai Ranges).
Known also from eastern Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, China, Nepal.
Habitat
On soil, still very poorly collected.
Detailed description
Basal squamules small, inconspicuous, persistent, 2–3 × 1 mm, slightly incised. Podetia arising from basal squamules, 10–30 mm tall, c. 7–1.5 mm diam., usually simple and branching near apices, the branches arranged in a subcymose or subcorymbose manner, axils open, always with terminal apothecia, off-white or partly brown; cortex smooth near base and becoming verrucose near apices, becoming longitudinally grooved and split, without soredia, occasionally slightly squamulose. Apothecia small, 0.25–0.5 mm diam., pale-brown to brown, convex, terminal on branches.
Chemistry: Cortex K+ weak yellow, KC−, Pd+ red; containing atranorin, fumarprotocetraric and protocetraric acids, the substance Cph-2 and accessory rangiformic and norrangiformic acids.
Similar taxa
An uncommon species distinguished from Cladonia furcata by the presence of atranorin, and from fertile C. pratermissa by the absence of soredia.
Substrate
Terricolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (10 September 2021). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, Features and Similar taxa sections copied from Galloway (2007).
References and further reading
Galloway D.J. 2007: Flora of New Zealand: Lichens, including lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi. 2nd edition. Lincoln, Manaaki Whenua Press. 2261 pp