Cladonia pyxidata
Family
Cladoniaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Fruticose
Current conservation status
2018 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Poor Knights Islands), South Auckland (Hunua Range, Mt Maungatwhiri), Taranaki (Mt Taranaki), Wellington (Field Hut Tararua Ranges). South Island: Canterbury (Craigieburn Range, Sebastopol), Otago (Canyon Creek Ahuriri Valley, Sugarloaf Saddle Rockburn, Pisa Range, Old Man Range). Stewart Island: (Oban, Pegasus Creek, Deceit Peaks). Campbell Island: (Camp Cove).
Known also from Great Britain, Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, Africa, North, Central and South America, Oceania, Australia, Tasmania, and Antarctica.
Habitat
On open ground on banks, thin soils overlying rock, peat soils and Leptospermum heaths, sheltered alpine herbfield.
Detailed description
Primary squamules, persistent, contiguous or dispersed, rarely disappearing, small to medium 2-7(-15) × 4 mm, irregularly lobed or incised, apices rounded, margins crenate or sinuate, ± thick, ascending or appressed, upper surface glaucescent to pale olive-green or brownish, lower surface white, darkening at base, esorediate. Podetia growing from upper surface of primary squamules, 4-10(-60) mm tall, simple or with short, marginal proliferations bearing apothecia, cups flaring gradually from base, turbinate, deep, interior closed and decorticate in part, with small, peltate, glaucous squamules or corticate granules covering interior as well as outer surface, slate grey to olive-green or brownish, cups ± regular, rarely proliferating from margins. Apothecia rather rare, small to rather large, at margins of cups, sessile or shortly stalked, brown or red-brown.
Chemistry: Cortex K−, C−, KC−, Pd+ red; containing fumarprotocetraric acid (major) and protocetraric acid (tr.).
Similar taxa
Cladonia pyxidata is similar to C. chlorophaea but is distinguished from it by having true corticate granules that are primary in nature being found even in immature cups, the cups are more regular and flare very gradually from the base, becoming almost turbinate. In addition, broken podetia show an orange-coloured stereome. C. fimbriata is distinguished from C. pyxidata in having wineglass-shaped podetia and farinose 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 (1985, 2007).
References and further reading
Galloway D.J. 1985: Flora of New Zealand: Lichens. Wellington: PD Hasselberg, Government Printer. 662 pp.
Galloway D.J. 2007: Flora of New Zealand: Lichens, including lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi. 2nd edition. Lincoln, Manaaki Whenua Press. 2261 pp.