Ramalina pacifica
Family
Ramalinaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Fruticose
Current conservation status
2018 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: DP, RR, SO, Sp
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous (occasionally saxicolous) habit; compressed branches, broader basally and narrowing towards apices; soralia with prominent margins; and salazinic acid (K+ red) in the medulla.
Distribution
Rare from the Kermadec Islands to Wellington.
Known also from Burma/Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia (Java), Mariana Is, South Africa, Australia, New Hebrides, Cook Is, Norfolk Is, Bonin Is.
Habitat
Most common in mainland and offshore island habitats north of Auckland, on Avicennia marina subsp. australasica and Metrosideros excelsa and also in forest remnants on Agathis australis, Crataegus*, Dacrycarpus dacrydiodes, Fuchsia excorticata, Leptospermum scoparium agg., Meryta sinclairii, Pittosporum crassifolium, Pinus radiata*, Podocarpus totara var. totara, Salix fragilis* and occasionally on rocks. Mainly coastal but with a few inland records.
Detailed description
Thallus tufted or subpendulous, rather polymorphic, 2-6(-10) cm tall. Erect or straggling, holdfast delimited and rounded, corticolous, occasionally saxicolous. Branches 2-5 mm wide at base, tapering apically, pale yellow-green to greenish-grey, shortly tufted and much divided, ± terete apically, elsewhere ± flattened, surface undulate or shallowly faveolate, smooth, waxy or dull without pseudocyphellae, occasionally minutely striate (×10 lens), sorediate. Soralia mainly marginal also occasionally laminal, rounded to irregular, in concave depressions with flaring undulate margins, to convex, discrete, or becoming confluent, 0.5-4 mm diam., soredia green-white, farinose. Apothecia (not seen in New Zealand material) rare, sublateral rarely apical, disc markedly convex at maturity. Ascospores straight, 8-15 × 5-7 µm.
Chemistry: Cortex K+ yellow; medulla K+ brown, C-, KC+ brown-purple, Pd+ orange. Protocetraric acid. Two chemodemes present: (1) usnic, salazinic (K+ red) and, ±protocetraric acids, and (2) usnic acid (K−).
Substrate
Corticolous. Occasionally saxicolous.
Etymology
ramalina: Meaning small branches, twiggy.
pacifica: Of the Pacific Ocean.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford and Melissa A. S. Hutchison (February 2021). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, and Features sections sourced from Bannister et al. (2004) and Galloway (2007).
References and further reading
Bannister P., Bannister J.M. and Blanchon D.J. 2004: Distribution, habitat, and relation to climatic factors of the lichen genus Ramalina in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 42: 121–138.
Galloway D.J. 2007: Flora of New Zealand: Lichens, including lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi. 2nd edition. Lincoln, Manaaki Whenua Press. 2261 pp.
Taylor M., Bieleski R.L. and Allan H.H. 2002: Meanings and origins of botanical names of New Zealand plants. Auckland Botanical Society Bulletin 26.