Menegazzia eperforata
Family
Parmeliaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Foliose
Current conservation status
2018 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous habit; the lack of perforations; and the presence of true isidia that are simple, cylindrical or spathulate and which never burst open into coarsely granular, torn pustules (as in M. nothofagi).
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Great Barrier Island) to Wellington (York Bay, Gollans Valley). South Island: Nelson (Reefton). Stewart Island: Port Pegasus (track from Disappointment Cove to Broad Bay).
Known also from eastern Australia, Tasmania and Lord Howe Island.
Habitat
On forest trees (Agathis, Fuscospora, Myrsine).
The Stewart Island material associates with: Degelia rosulata, Degeliella versicolor, Megalaria pulverea, Menegazzia nothofagi and Pannaria sphinctrina.
Detailed description
Thallus rosette-forming or ± irregular, individual rosettes small to medium, seldom exceeding 5 cm diam., but often coalescing with adjoining thalli to cover larger areas of substrate, closely attached, corticolous. Lobes very numerous, small, delicate and fragile, 0.5-0.8 mm wide, to 5 mm long but usually much shorter, irregularly branched, sometimes appearing palmate towards margins, mostly closely contiguous throughout entire length, often imbricate centrally, margins sinuous, entire or notched, hollow, lower side of internal cavity blackened, apices ± elevated, ± pale brown or red-brown. Upper surface concave or plane, shining, pale green-grey or green with faint, white, irregular, incomplete reticulate maculae (× 10 lens) best seen on marginal lobes, margins not, or only slightly blackened. Perforations absent from both upper and lower surfaces, soredia absent, isidiate. Isidia often very numerous and sometimes completely obscuring older parts of thallus, rather coarse, 0.15-0.25 mm diam., and 0.5-1.3 mm tall, simple at first becoming branched, terete to spathulate or flattened and then occasionally dorsiventral with pale brown underside, often decumbent on thallus, very fragile and easily abraded, arising as papillate outgrowths of upper surface, rarely marginal, concolorous with thallus, apices pale brown to red-brown. Apothecia not seen.
Chemistry: Medulla K+ orange, C−, KC+ orange, Pd+ orange; containing atranorin (cortex), stictic, constictic, norstictic (tr.) and menegazziaic acids and accessory compounds.
Similar taxa
Menegazzia eperforata is most closely related to M. nothofagi with which it often grows. It has true isidia which are simple, cylindrical or spathulate and which never burst into the coarsely granular, torn pustules seen in M. nothofagi. It is the only isidiate species of the genus known in New Zealand, although another isidiate, non-perforate species (still undescribed) is known from New Guinea. It was first collected in New Zealand in 1926 by G. Einar and Greta Du Rietz when they discovered it as an epiphyte of Nothofagus truncata [Fuscospora truncata] in coastal forest near York Bay, Wellington.
Substrate
Corticolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Melissa Hutchison (16 March 2022). 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.