Ramalina fimbriata
Family
Ramalinaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Fruticose
Current conservation status
2018 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, SO, Sp
Brief description
Characterised by the saxicolous habit; the small, fragile, button-like thalli; inflated branches; and large soredia produced from the disintegrating lower cortex.
Distribution
South Island: Otago (Old Man Range, Mt Benger, Teviot River below Lake Onslow Dam, Boundary Creek near Lake Onslow, ridge between Lake Onslow & upper Taieri River, Stony Creek, Old Dunstan Road, Rock & Pillar Range, Nenthorn, The Pyramids Otago Peninsula, Black Head Dunedin, Kuriwao). Recently recorded on Banks Peninsula (Hutchison 2019).
Known also from East Africa.
Habitat
On high-alpine to coastal rocks (schist in alpine areas, basalt at coast), 15-1,600 m, under dry, sheltered, overhanging ledges, and cave-like erosion hollows 1-3 m above ground level in the sides of schist tors [growth is mainly on the ceilings of these caves, to a lesser extent on the walls, and sparsely on the floors of some only – associating with Caloplaca lutea, Lecanora bicincta, L. cavicola, L. rupicola and L. swartzii in these microhabitats and on vertical, narrow stream sides; a rare and restricted species in New Zealand.
Detailed description
Thallus saxicolous, green-grey to yellow-green, caespitose, button-like, small, to 8 mm tall, branching dense and complex producing small branchlets apically. Branches 0.3–1.2 mm wide, flat to subterete, somewhat inflated, rarely producing slit-like perforations. Surface shining to matt, smooth to slightly wrinkled. Holdfast diffuse. Soralia present, formed from disintegration of lower cortex, occurring laminally and at apices; soredia large, granular, yellowish. Apothecia rare, terminal (Nenthorn material).
Chemistry: Medulla K−; containing usnic and divaricatic acids.
Substrate
Saxicolous.
Etymology
ramalina: Meaning small branches, twiggy.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (1 February 2022). 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.
Hutchison M. 2019: iNaturalist observation. https://inaturalist.nz/observations/24924411. Date accessed: 7 June 2023.