Lecanora argentata
Synonyms
Parmelia subfusca f. (“η”) argentata Ach.
Family
Lecanoraceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Crustose
Current conservation status
2018 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, SO
Brief description
Recognised by the corticolous habit; the clear, red-brown epithecium; large crystals in the amphithecium; and products of the gangaleoidin chemosyndrome.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Little Barrier Island, Waiwera) to Auckland (Mt Albert Research Station).
Known from Great Britain, Europe, Scandinavia and North America.
Habitat
In coastal forest (Metrosideros) and on a planted specimen of Fuscospora. It occurs in high-light habitats with species of Buellia, Flavoparmelia, Pertusaria and Parmotrema.
Detailed description
Thallus continuous, yellowish to greenish white, or greyish smooth at margins, uneven to subverrucose centrally, without pruina or soredia, delimited by a ±prominent grey-white or whitish prothallus. Apothecia sessile, 0.4–1 mm diam., scattered or crowded centrally; thalline exciple persistent, concolorus with thallus, smooth to ±verrucose or crenulate; discs reddish or dark red-brown to bright red-brown, epruinose. Amphithecium with large crystals (pulicaris-type not dissolving in K); epithecium reddish brown not dissolving in K, without crystals (glabrata-type), 10–15 μm thick. Paraphyses c. 2 μm thick, simple, dense, apices capitate to 4 μm thick . Hymenium colourless, 55–70 μm tall. Hypothecium colourless. Asci clavate 40–55 × 10–14 μm. Ascospores ellipsoidal, 10.5–15.5 × 5.5–8.5 μm, the wall 0.5 μm thick.
Chemistry: Thallus and apothecial margin K+ yellow, C−, KC−, Pd+ yellow; containing atranorin and gangaleoidin as major compounds with chloroatranorin, 4-dechlorogangaleoidin and norgangaleoidin as minor compounds
Substrate
Corticolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (3 August 2022). 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.