Crocodia rubella
Synonyms
Lobaria rubella, Sticta rubella
Family
Peltigeraceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Foliose
Current conservation status
2018 | Not Threatened
Brief description
Characterised by linear-elongate to somewhat rounded lobes, with irregularly incised, rather ragged, tomentose margins; an undulate to irregularly reticulate-faveolate, tomentose and sorediate upper surface; a yellow medulla; a green algal photobiont; a pale yellow-buff lower surface with numerous, prominent yellow pseudocyphellae; and a complex chemistry containing pigments and 20 lupane triterpenoids.
Distribution
North Island: South Auckland (Rotorua) to Kapiti Island. South Island: Nelson to Fiordland and eastwards from Marlborough (near Kaikoura), Banks Peninsula and near Dunedin. Stewart Island: (N coast to Port Pegasus). Auckland Islands. Campbell Island.
Known also from Australlia (New South Wales, southern Victoria and Tasmania).
Habitat
Lowland to subalpine, s.l. to 1500 m. A photophilous species commonly found on Fuscospora bark, at or near forest margins and on successional shrubs (especially Leptospermum agg. ) in moderate to high-rainfall areas, and occasionally also on rocks and old stumps and rarely on exotic trees (Populus* in Hanmer Forest). It may be parasitised by the lichenicolous fungi Lichenoconium plectocarpoides and Plectocarpon tibellii.
Detailed description
Thallus orbicular, ± rosette-shaped to spreading or straggling, 5-8(-12) cm diam., ± centrally attached, margins often free. Lobes linear, somewhat elongate, margins irregularly incised, ± ragged, granular-sorediate, not phyllidiate or isidiate. Upper surface bright lettuce-green when wet, greyish-green to buff-pink when dry becoming suffused reddish on storage, ± scabrid at margins, smooth, undulate to ± faveolate-impressed centrally, ± silky white-tomentose, ± sorediate. Soredia marginal in linear to sublinear soralia, or laminal in scattered, punctiform to confluent soralia, granular, yellow. Medulla yellow. Photobiont green. Lower surface pale yellow, ± evenly white, silky tomentose to margins. Pseudocyphellae yellow, prominent, numerous, flat, to 1.5 mm diam. Apothecia rather rare, pedicellate, disc dark brown or red-brown, concave to plane, somewhat undulate, matt, epruinose, margins eroded, granular-sorediate, exciple corrugate-scabrid, concolorous with thallus, ridges often yellow-sorediate. Ascospores brown, oblong-ellipsoid to obtusely fusiform, 3-septate, 28-30 × 10-13 µm.
Chemistry: Pulvinic acid, pulvinic dilactone and calycin, and 20 lupane triterpenoids.
Similar taxa
Crocodia rubella is distinguished from C. aurata by its densely hairy lobes. Crocodia poculifera has soralia derived from small, marginal, crowded isidia, whereas C. rubella has linear soralia that are confluent and labriform (Galloway 2007).
Substrate
Corticolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (14 December 2021). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, and Features sections copied from Galloway (1985) & Galloway (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.