Coenogonium fallaciosum
Synonyms
Dimerella fallaciosa, Patellaria fallaciosa
Family
Coenogoniaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Crustose
Current conservation status
2018 | Data Deficient | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by an epiphyllous thallus and apothecia that are hypophyllous and located usually at the edges of leaves.
Distribution
North Island. South Island: ?? Recently found on the Chatham Islands (de Lange 2021).
Widely distributed in the tropics.
Habitat
Forest
Detailed description
Thallus spotted olive-greenish, very thin, continuous, smooth, without a marginal prothallus. Apothecia hypophyllous, clustered at lower margins, especially around breaks or tears, 0.3–1.0 mm diam., sessile, at first yellowish pink, gyalectiform, with a wide margin, ±translucent when moist, at maturity becoming reddish, plane and thinly marginate, the margin concolorous with disc. Hymenium 50–60 μm tall. Ascospores 6–11 × 2.5–3.5 μm.
Similar taxa
Coenogonium fallaciosum is characterised by an epiphyllous thallus similar to that of Coenogonium zonatum (it was formerly included in the synonymy of C. luteum by Santesson (1952)) but differs in not having a distinct marginal prothallus; apothecia that are hypophyllous and located usually at the edges of leaves.
Substrate
Foliicolous (on leaves)
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Melissa Hutchison (9 July 2021). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, and Features sections copied from Galloway (2007).
References and further reading
de Lange P.J. 2021: iNaturalist observation of Coenogonium fallaciosum. https://inaturalist.nz/observations/69849160
Galloway D.J. 2007: Flora of New Zealand: Lichens, including lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi. 2nd edition. Lincoln, Manaaki Whenua Press. 2261 pp.
Santesson R. 1952: Foliicolous lichens I. A revision of the taxonomy of the obligately foliicolous, lichenized fungi. Symbolae Botanicae Upsalienses 12 (1): 1–590.