Pertusaria puffina
Family
Pertusariaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Crustose
Current conservation status
2018 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP
Brief description
Characterised by a dull yellow, cracked thallus, numerous green-white discoid soralia and a distinctive chemistry, including orange fluorescence under UV.
Distribution
North Island: Far North (Waimamaku), Kaipara Harbour, Auckland (Maungakiekie, Rangitoto Island), Hunua, and Waikato. Chatham Islands.
Also in Thailand, Lord Howe Island, Eastern Australia, Papua New Guinea and India.
Habitat
A coastal species, corticolous on mangroves (Avicennia marina subsp. australasica), pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), kānuka (Kunzea spp.) and puriri (Vitex lucens).
Appears to prefer high light environments, usually occurring on sheltered sides of the trunks and some branches of mature mangroves up to 2 metres above the ground. Lichens commonly associated with the species include Crocodia aurata, Heterodermia japonica, Pannaria araneosa, P. elixii, Parmotrema perlatum, P. reticulatum, P. subtinctorium, Pertusaria melaleucoides, P. psoromica, P. sorodes, Physcia tribacoides, Pyrenula sexlocularis, Sticta squamata and Usnea rubicunda.
Detailed description
Thallus dull yellow, thin, cracked, smooth and glossy. Isidia absent. Soralia numerous, scattered, white to greenish white, disciform, 0.4–1.0 mm diam. Apothecia not seen.
Chemistry: Thallus K+ pale yellow, KC–, C–, Pd–; containing 2,4-dichlorolichexanthone (major), 2,5-dichlorolichexanthone (major), 2,4,5-trichlorolichexanthone (major), stictic acid (major), 2-chlorolichexanthone (minor) and constictic acid (minor).
Similar taxa
Few other Pertusaria species can be mistaken for P. puffina, although the isidiate species P. subisidiosa A.W.Archer has a similar chemistry.
Substrate
Corticolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (14 June 2022). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, and Features sections adapted from Er et al. (2015).
References and further reading
Er O.A.H.; Reynolds C.L. and Blanchon D.J. 2015: Additional lichen records from New Zealand 49. Pertusaria puffina A.W.Archer & Elix. Australasian Lichenology 77: 28-31.