Ramalina celastri
Common name
Cartilage lichen
Synonyms
Parmelia celastri
Family
Ramalinaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Fruticose
Current conservation status
2018 | Not Threatened
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous (rarely saxicolous) habit; variable thallus morphology; numerous laminal and/or marginal apothecia; numerous short, linear pseudocyphellae; and usnic acid as sole secondary metabolite.
Distribution
Three Kings Islands: (Raoul Island). North Island: Northland (Three Kings Islands) to Wellington. South Island: Nelson to Southland (absent from Fiordland), both E and W of the Main Divide. Chatham Islands: (Wharekauri, Te Whanga Lagoon, Stony Creek).
Very widespread and the most common species of the genus in New Zealand, though with conspicuous gaps in distribution (e.g. Fiordland and Stewart Island).
A widespread tropical lichen known also from the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, Tristan da Cunha, E Africa, India, the Pacific Islands and Australia.
Habitat
On coastal and inland fence posts and railings and introduced trees and shrubs, especially fruit trees, and decorticated wood. Also on a variety of native trees and shrubs and occasionally on rock and concrete. Known collections occur on the following substrata: wood (5%), rock (18%), native vegetation (41%), and exotic vegetation (36%) [J. Bannister pers. comm.].
Detailed description
Thallus erect, rigid, (1-)5-10(-12) cm tall, sparingly to moderately branched from an open broad base, holdfast prominent. Branches flattened, ± lanceolate, plane or canaliculate, width variable, 1-20 mm wide, commonly 3-10 mm wide, smooth or uneven, undulate, plicate or ridged, pale greenish- grey to pale stramineous or fawn-grey, young branches thin, ± smooth and even, older branches longitudinally ribbed- striate or reticulately ridged from subcorticular strands of cartilaginous strengthening tissue, often lacerate-cracked or fenestrate, pseudocy-phellae common and often prominent, white, shortly linear to irregular, cortex sometimes eroding to reveal ± clathrate arrangement of subcortical cartilaginous strands, margins sinuous, entire, slightly thickened, apices narrow, entire to broad and ± ragged, in well-developed thalli small lobules or adventitious thalli growing from lamina, soralia absent. Apothecia numerous, marginal in young thalli, then laminal in older thalli, pedicellate, 0.2-0.5 mm diam., deeply cupuliform when young with a thin margin, becoming plane when convex and ± immarginate with age, disc flat or convex, sometimes papillate, white- or pinkish-pruinose, thalline exciple smooth at first, becoming coarsely wrinkled scabrid, glossy. Ascospores straight, apices rounded or acute, 10-16 × 4-7 µm.
Chemistry: Usnic acid.
Substrate
Corticolous, lignicolous, saxicolous, artificial surfaces (concrete)
Etymology
ramalina: Meaning small branches, twiggy.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (5 December 2021). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, Features and Similar taxa sections copied from Galloway (1985) & Galloway (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.