Diploschistes actinostomus
Synonyms
Verrucaria actinostoma [Pers. ex] Ach.,
Family
Graphidaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Crustose
Current conservation status
2018 | Data Deficient | Qualifiers: OL, SO
Brief description
Characterised by the saxicolous habit; the grey-white to greyish thallus; perithecioid ascomata; 4–8-spored asci; ellipsoidal ascospores, 16–32 × 10–20 μm; and lecanoric acid in the medulla.
Distribution
South Island: Otago. Also found in Canterbury (Banks Peninsula) in 2019 (Allison Knight, pers. comm.).
Known also from Europe, Macaronesia, Asia, North America, West Indies, North Africa, South Africa, Socotra, India, Nepal and Australia.
Habitat
On base-rich siliceous rocks in open, sunny sites.
Detailed description
Thallus crustose, uniform, rather thin, areolate, areolae 0.5–1.5 mm diam. Upper surface whitish grey to grey, smooth, glossy to matt, epruinose. Apothecia perithecioid, immersed, to 3 mm diam.; disc blackish, plane. Proper exciple to 70 μm thick. Hymenium 120–160 μm tall. Asci cylindrical to clavate, 4–8-spored. Ascospores brown, muriform, ellipsoidal, 16–32 × 10–20 μm, 4–6 transverse septa, 1–3 longitudinal septa per transverse segment. Pycnidia immersed. Conidia bacillar, 4–7 × 1 μm.
Chemistry: K−, C+ red, Pd−; containing lecanoric acid (major), diploschistesic acid (tr.), orsellinic acid (tr.), atranorin (tr.), chloroatranorin (tr.).
Similar taxa
Poorly developed forms are distinguished from D. euganeus, which has no secondary chemistry and broadly ellipsoidal ascospores.
Substrate
Saxicolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (28 December 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.