Megalaria sublivens
Synonyms
Lecidea sublivens Nyl., Patellaria sublivens (Nyl.) Müll.Arg., Biatorina sublivens (Nyl.) Hellb., Catillaria sublivens (Nyl.) Zahlbr.,
Family
Ramalinaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Structural class
Lichens - Crustose
Current conservation status
2018 | Data Deficient
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous habit; the pale greyish white or olivaceous, continuous to areolate, to wrinkled or verrucose thallus, delimited by a wavy, black, prothallus; plane to subconvex, black apothecia, 0.2–1.0 mm diam; and oval–ellipsoidal to fabiform ascospores, 15–20.5 × 5–6.5 μm.
Distribution
North Island: Auckland, Wellington (Kapiti Island).
Originally only known form the type collection on Kapiti Island.
Habitat
Corticolous. Found on Myrsine australis in coastal scrub at Shakespeare Regional Park in North Auckland.
Detailed description
Thallus pale greyish-green or whitish-olivaceous or pale olivaceous, ± continuous, occasionally irregularly cracked, slightly irregularly wrinkled or verrucose, shining, delimited at margins by a wavy, black prothallus, in irregular patches 1-2 cm diam., corticolous. Apothecia scattered, solitary, 0.2-0.8(-1.0) mm diam., plane to subconvex, black, matt or shining, epruinose, margins concolorous with disc, slightly raised to ± occluded. Epithecium 10-15 µm tall, pale olive-greyish. Hymenium 40-45 µm tall, colourless. Hypothecium 45-60 µm thick, pale yellowish. Paraphyses free, simple, non-septate, 2 µm thick, apices slightly swollen to 3.5-4 µm. Ascospores oval-ellipsoid, to ± fabiform, straight or curved, apices pointed or rounded, locules equal often with one conspicuous nucleus, 15.3-20.4 × 5.1-6.8 µm.
Substrate
Corticolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (7 February 2024). 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.