Leptogium laceroides
Family
Collemataceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Foliose
Current conservation status
2018 | Data Deficient | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by the muscicolous/terricolous habit; crowded–congested lobes with entire to lacerate or isidiate margins; laminal, terete to lobulate isidia; the smooth to occasionally wrinkled–plicate upper surface; and the densely white-tomentose lower surface.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Great Barrier Island), South Auckland (Waihaha), Wellington (Akitio). South Island: Westland (Kumara), Canterbury (Hamner Forest), Otago (Old Man Range), Southland (Aparima River near Hamilton Burn). Stewart Island: (Port Pegasus).
Known also from Europe, Africa, North, Central and South America and Tristan da Cunha.
Habitat
Among mosses and hepatics in shaded, humid habitats in lowland rainforest or bush remnants, and rarely in alpine sites, also among mosses and grass in small stones at the edge of roads and paths, s.l. to 400 m.
It is an epiphyte of the following phorophytes: Cyathea dealbata, Kunzea ericoides agg., Melicytus ramiflorus, Metrosideros umbellata, Quercus*, and Salix*.
Detailed description
Thallus flat to involute, lobate, spreading, greyish-blue to brownish, 2-5 cm diam., corticolous. Lobes orbicular to elongate ± elevated, overlapping, congested, 3-5 mm wide, margins entire to irregularly incised, isidiate. Isidia numerous, laminal, dense in places, polymorphic, cylindrical to lobulate, often flattened and minutely squamulose, simple or branched. Upper surface smooth, not or occasionally ± wrinkled-plicate. Lower surface densely white-tomentose, margins ± glabrous, hairs about 20 µm long. Apothecia rare, sessile, laminal, 3-4 mm diam., disc slightly convex, pale brown to dark red-brown, thalline exciple concolorous with thallus, with numerous isidioid outgrowths. Ascospores ellipsoid with pointed apices, submuriform, 28-35 × 12-17 µm.
Similar taxa
It is the isidiate counterpart of Leptogium burgessi.
Substrate
Terricolous, saxicolus, muscicolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (15 December 2023). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, Features, and Similar taxa 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.