Lecidella sublapicida
Synonyms
Lecidea sublapicida
Family
Lecanoraceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Crustose
Current conservation status
2018 | Data Deficient | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by the saxicolous habit; the thin to evanescent, granular to somewhat crumbly, dirty creamish to yellow-grey thallus; the numerous, scattered to crowded, solitary to confluent, black, convex, marginate, epruinose apothecia, 0.2–0.8 mm diam.; the olive-brown to green-blue epithecium; the pale-brown to colourless hypothecium; the wide inner unpigmented part of the exciple inspersed with fine cystals (polarised light) and appearing yellow-grey or pale-brown; oval–ellipsoidal ascospores, 11.5–14 × 5–7 μm; and a C+ yellow-orange medullary reaction.
Distribution
North Island. South Island: Otago (Mihiwaka). Stewart Island.
Known also from Australia, Chile, South Orkney and South Shetland Islands.
Habitat
Throughout in fellfield, screes and rockslides, mainly alpine or subalpine on pebbles and stones. Associating with Lecanora farinacea.
Detailed description
Thallus usually not apparent, granular, indeterminate, greyish-white or lacking. Apothecia numerous, scattered, 0.2-0.8 mm diam., solitary to confluent, appressed, black, epruinose, plane to convex, margins very thin, black, undulate. Epithecium brown-black, granular, 7-8.5 µm thick. Hymenium colourless. Hypothecium pale yellow-brown. Paraphyses dense, straight, 2 µm thick, capitate at apices to 5 µm thick. Ascospores oval-ellipsoid, 7-10.2 × 3.4-5.1 µm.
Chemistry: Thallus C+ yellow-orange; two chemodemes present: (1) containing arthothelin, thuringione and ±atranorin, and (2) containing isoarthothelin, capistratone and vicanicin.
Lecidella is a genus of c. 50 species, all except one of which are lichenised and occur on exposed stone, bark, wood or rarely on decaying vegetation (including other lichens). It is included in the family Lecanoraceae and is characterised by: green-black or green-brown pigments in the epithecium; sessile, black or dark red-brown, lecideine apothecia; Lecidella-type asci [known only from Lecidella; lax simple paraphyses with scarcely swollen apices; simple, thick-walled ascospores without a perispore; and a secondary chemistry characterised by the abundant occurrence of chlorinated xanthones (C+ orange). Taxa occur from polar to tropical regions. In the Flora (Galloway 1985: 242–243; 636–637) five taxa were discussed, but since then several more species have been added to the list of taxa known from New Zealand, and more detailed chemical and anatomical data on these are now available.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Melissa Hutchison (30 August 2021). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, Features, and Extra information 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.