Nephroma plumbeum var. isidiatum
Synonyms
Nephroma lyallii f. isidiatum
Family
Nephromataceae
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 saxicolous/corticolous habit; the crowded squamiform to terete, sometimes branched phyllidia along the margins and along cracks in the thallus; and no secondary chemistry.
Distribution
North Island: Wellington. South Island: Westland (Runanga); Otago (Dunedin – Leith Valley, Ross Creek, Mihiwaka); Southland (Wilmot Pass, Forest Hill). Still very poorly collected in New Zealand.
Also known from southern Chile.
Habitat
On rocks and tree bark in deep shade. On twigs in damp, shady, humid situations although nowhere is it common.
Detailed description
Thallus lobate, spreading, to 8 cm diam., loosely attached, fragile, corticolous. Upper surface blue or brown or variegated, smooth, wrinkled or folded, margins lacerate to proliferate, occasionally phyllidiate. Phyllidia squamiform, dissected and sometimes proliferating, marginal or along laminal cracks. Lower surface brownish-tomentose, pale and glabrous towards margins. Apothecia very pale brown to reddish, ± reniform with a 1 mm wide, entire thalline margin. Ascospores colourless to pale reddish-brown, 1-septate, 16-18 × 4-6 µm. (Description for Nephroma plumbeum in Galloway 1985).
Chemistry: Nil.
Similar taxa
Similar to N. plumbeum var. plumbeum, but with crowded squamiform to terete, sometimes branched phyllidia along the margins and along cracks in the thallus.
Nephroma plumbeum is distinguished from other species of Nephroma in New Zealand by the cyanobacterial photobiont; its 1(–3)-septate spores, negative chemistry, and pale blue-grey rather ragged upper surface.
Substrate
Saxicolous, corticolous
Etymology
plumbeum: Lead-coloured
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Melissa Hutchison (28 December 2021). 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.