Lepra barbatica
Family
Pertusariaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Crustose
Current conservation status
2018 | Data Deficient | Qualifiers: RR
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous habit; the isidiate thallus; and the presence of barbatic acid.
Distribution
North Island: South Auckland (Coromandel Peninsula).
Recently recorded in the Waitakere Ranges, Auckland (Ford 2021).
Known also from East Australia and Tasmania.
Habitat
On bark of kauri (Agathis australis).
Detailed description
Thallus corticolous, pale olive-green, thin, surface smooth, matt, isidiate, without soredia. Isidia inconspicuous, numerous, simple, rarely branching, concolorous with thallus, 0.2–0.3 mm tall, 0.1 mm diam. Apothecia not seen.
Chemistry: Thallus K−, C−, KC−, Pd−; containing barbatic acid (major), 4-O-demethylbarbatic acid (minor or tr.) and 3α-hydroxybarbatic acid (tr.).
Substrate
Corticolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (9 October 2022). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, and Features sections copied from Galloway (2007).
References and further reading
Ford M. 2021: Observation of Lepra barbatica. https://inaturalist.nz/observations/97859864. Date accessed: 7 February 2023.
Galloway D.J. 2007: Flora of New Zealand: Lichens, including lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi. 2nd edition. Lincoln, Manaaki Whenua Press. 2261 pp.