Hyperphyscia adglutinata
Family
Physciaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Foliose
Current conservation status
2018 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous habit; the agglutinate, thin, very closely attached small, greenish brown thallus; narrow, flat lobes with truncate to slightly broadened apices; and orbicular, crateriform, erose, laminal soralia.
Distribution
North Island: (Northland to Wellington). South Island: Nelson to Southland.
Known also from Great Britain, Europe, Scandinavia, East Africa, South Africa, North and South America and Australia
Habitat
Throughout, coastal and inland on bark of introduced, deciduous trees (Acer*, Populus*, Quercus*, Salix*, Ulmus*etc) in urban, agricultural and often polluted environments; occasionally on leaves of ferns, trees, shrubs, hedges and garden plants (e.g. Hepatica*) where it appears to be fast-growing and of relatively short duration. Also common on specimen trees of native species (Griselinia, Hoheria, etc) in urban parks and gardens with some degree of atmospheric pollution.
Detailed description
Thallus small, orbicular, to 2 cm diam., thin and very closely attached to substrate, corticolous. Lobes narrow, to 0.5 mm wide, overlapping or distinctly separated. Upper surface brownish-grey or greyish-brown to dark brown, darker at lobe margins, sorediate. Soralia laminal, small, spot-like, usually abundant centrally. Lower surface hardly visible on account of the lobes being very closely attached to the substrate. Rhizines short, very sparse, indistinct. Apothecia rare, to 1 mm diam. Ascospores 1-septate, 13-18 × 7-10 µm. Pycnidia immersed. Conidia filiform 15-20 × 1 µm.
Similar taxa
Hyperphyscia adglutinata is distinguished from H. plinthiza by its smaller thallus (up to 2 cm diam. versus 5-12 cm diam. for H. plinthiza), its narrower lobes (up to 0.5 mm wide versus 4-12 mm wide), and the presence of soredia (H. plinthiza is not sorediate).
Substrate
Corticolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Melissa Hutchison (9 March 2022). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, and Features 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.