Peltigera hymenina
Family
Peltigeraceae
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, Sp
Distribution
South Island: Otago (Lake Onslow, Dunedin, Pukerau), Southland (Homer, Argyle Burn). Stewart Island: (Tin Range).
Known from the Northern Hemisphere from North America, Western Europe, the British Isles, Macaronesia and Africa, but not elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere.
Habitat
Among mosses and bryophytes often with other lichens (especially Cladia aggregata, C. sullivanii) in subalpine grassland, or on soil or rocks, s.l. to 160 m.
Detailed description
Thallus rosette-forming to irregularly spreading, 3–8(–14) cm diam. Lobes linear, imbricate, 0.5–1.2(–2) cm diam., 2–6 cm long, rather thin, 200–300 μm thick. Margins entire or shallowly notched, wavy, ±inrolled in parts. Upper surface slatey blue-grey to brown-grey, suffused red-brown at apices when wet, olive-green to brownish green to pale-grey when dry, matt, minutely maculate (×10 lens, best seen when wet), without isidia, phyllidia or soredia. Lower surface without veins, or veins when present, flat, broad, indistinct, ±evenly felted-tomentose from centre to margins, or occasionally with small, scattered, whitish interstitial areas apparent at margins between veins (×10 lens), pale yellowish buff in a broad, marginal zone darkening centrally. Rhizines thin, scattered, simple to fasciculate, pale yellow-buff to dark-brown, generally rather short, 2–4 mm long. Apothecia rather rare, 3–5 mm long, saddle-shaped, on short marginal stalks, disc red-brown, epruinose, margins corrugate–roughened, pale-buff, tomentose below. Ascospores fusiform, 3–5-septate, 50–70(–80) × 3–4 μm.
Chemistry: Tenuiorin, methyl gyrophorate, gyrophoric acid, peltidactylin, dolichorrhizin, zeorin (tr.), hopane-7β,22-diol, unidentified triterpenoid (tr.).
Similar taxa
Peltigera hymenina differs from other taxa in the P. polydactylon aggregate by its mainly pale buff-brown lower surface, with ±continuous felted tomentum and rather diffuse venation, the somewhat maculate and less shiny upper surface, and the thin, pale, simple to fasciculate short rhizines.
Substrate
Terricolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (3 September 2021). Brief description, Habitat, and Features sections copied from Galloway (2007).
References and further reading
Galloway D.J. 2007: Flora of New Zealand: Lichens, including lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi. 2nd edition. Lincoln, Manaaki Whenua Press. 2261 pp.