Parasiphula fragilis
Synonyms
Endocarpon fragile, Siphula fragilis, Sticta fragilis
Family
Coccotremataceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Fruticose
Current conservation status
2018 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by the terricolous habit; the broad, thin, fragile lobes that are suffused reddish pink and with a uniformly smooth surface; and no secondary chemistry.
Distribution
North Island: South Auckland (Coromandel Ranges) to Wellington (Ruapehu, Tararua Range). South Island: Nelson (St Arnaud Range, Ngakawau, Mt Augustus above Stockton Plateau, Denniston Plateau), Marlborough (Mt Richmond), Westland (Mariner’s Peak Moeraki River, Robinson’s Creek Mataketake Range), Canterbury (Arthur’s Pass, Beetham Valley, Malte Brun Range, Mt Peel), Otago (Mt Brewster Haast Pass, Mt Birman Blue River, Forgotten River, Park Pass, Sugarloaf Saddle, Harris Saddle), Southland (Mt Clerke, Resolution Island, above Cascade Cove Dusky Sound, Lake Wapiti). Stewart Island: (Mt Anglem, Glory Cove Paterson Inlet, Rakeahua, Tin Range, Deceit Peaks, Frazer Peaks, Port Pegasus).
Australasian. Also in Tasmania, Australia.
Habitat
On damp alpine soils, often among mats of Andreaea in rock crevices frequently inundated by running water – commonly associated with other species of Parasiphula and Siphula such as P. complanata, P. elixii, P. foliacea and S. dissoluta.
Detailed description
Thallus lobes thin and fragile, undulate, 3-8 mm wide and to 20 mm tall, margins entire, rounded or truncate. Surface uniformly smooth, suffused reddish-pink, margins darker fawnish-pink to reddish, very rarely fenestrate, occasionally with tufts of pale, simple rhizines growing from lower surface in decumbent plants on exposed soil.
Chemistry: TLC−, all reactions negative.
Substrate
Terricolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Melissa Hutchison (16 June 2023). 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.