Peltigera nana
Family
Peltigeraceae
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 muscicolous/terricolous/corticolous habit; broadly rounded, thin, papery lobes [about half the thallus thickness of P. dolichorhiza (P. nana is 100–200 μm thick, while P. dolichorhiza is 220–400 μm thick)], a glabrous upper surface, a pale lower surface with broad, flat, diffuse pale-buff to reddish brown veins, and discrete, scattered pale to dark, simple to fasciculate rhizines [3–8(–12) mm long], and a medullary chemistry of tenuiorin and three tripterpenoids.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Three Kings Islands, Little Barrier Island), South Auckland (Maungatawhiri Coromandel Peninsula, Tokoroa), Wellington (Tararua Ranges). South Island: Marlborough (Anakiwa), Westland (Greymouth), Otago (Waitati, Birch Island, Clutha River, Kaka Point), Southland (Argyle Burn near Waikaia).
Known also from the Philippines.
Habitat
In moist, though fairly open, ±disturbed habitats, on rocks, rotting logs, tree bases, on soil, among mosses and grasses at forest margins, or on roadside banks, where it often occurs with other species of Peltigera and with other lichens such as Cladia inflata agg. and Stereocaulon ramulosum.
Detailed description
Thallus rather large, orbicular to spreading 5–10(–15) cm diam. Lobes broadly rounded, 1–2(–2.5) cm wide, 2–6(–8) cm long, papery, much thinner in texture (100–200 μm thick) than P. dolichorhiza and P. polydactylon. Margins wavy–undulate, here and there ±inrolled, entire to minutely scalloped, occasionally with small, fuzzy-brown tomentose apothecial initials. Upper surface glabrous, dark blue-black when wet, pale-greyish or olivaceous to dark-brown when dry, matt, somewhat coriaceous, papery, smooth to undulate–crumpled, ±bullate or longitudinally ridged. Lower surface tomentose, pale. Veins flattened, diffuse, rather broad, 0.5–2.5 mm wide, ±coalescing and continuous at margins, anastomosing towards centre, pale-buff to reddish brown, smooth; interstices white, fibrous, oval to elongate. Rhizines discrete, widely scattered, slender, simple to fasciculate, pale-buff to dark-brown or black, 3–8(–12) mm long. Apothecia rather small, ±erect, occasional to rare, 3–5 mm diam., saddle-shaped, ±strongly inrolled, on marginal lobules; disc red-brown to dark-brown, matt, epruinose, margins pale-buff or pinkish, verrucose–roughened, ±obscured by disc. Ascospores straight or curved, acicular, colourless 5–7-septate, (40–)45–55(–60) × 2.5–4 μm.
Chemistry: Tenuiorin, dolichorrhizin, peltidactylin and zeorin (tr.).
Substrate
Muscicolous, terricolous, corticolous
Etymology
nana: Small
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (29 August 2021). Brief description, Distribution, 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.