Heterodermia spathulifera
Family
Physciaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Foliose
Current conservation status
2018 | Data Deficient | Qualifiers: OL, SO
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous habit; the narrow, shiny, firmly attached lobes with pale rhizines; spathulate, large soralia; and a chemistry containing an unidentified compound “spathulin” appearing reddish in UV above zeorin after acid charring treatment.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Kerikeri), Auckland (Āwhitu), Waikato (Kawhia).
Known also from the Azores, (the Sonoran Desert in southern California/Mexico, the Caribbean, Asia, East and South Africa, and eastern Australia.
Habitat
On mangroves, coastal forest, broadleaf forest, occasionally on rock.
Detailed description
Thallus irregular to orbicular, to 3 cm diam. Lobes narrow, to 1 mm diam., plane not widening at apices, discrete to adjacent, firmly adnate, with marginal rhizines visible from above. Upper surface white or creamish, glossy, epruinose, sorediate. Soralia labriform, sometimes becoming large, to 5 mm tall, and spathulate, in humid sites developing into squamules aggregating centrally. Lower surface ecorticate, whitish at margins darkening to pale-brown centrally. Rhizines sparse, simple, 1–2 mm long, white or creamish, appearing as cilia on margins. Apothecia not seen.
Chemistry: Cortex K+ yellow, medulla K+ yellow, C−, KC−, Pd−; containing atranorin, zeorin and an unidentified compound [“spathulin”].
Substrate
Corticolous, saxicolous
Etymology
heterodermia: From the Greek heteros (other, different) and derma (a skin or hide), in reference to the presence or absence of a lower cortex
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (4 December 2023). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, and Features 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.