Ramalina unilateralis
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 | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous/lignicolous (occasionally saxicolous) habit; very variable small thalli, often densely branched at apices; and the cortex splitting laminally (but not at margins) to release soredia.
Distribution
North Island: South Auckland (Waikato, Pureora) to Wellington (Kapiti Island). South Island: Nelson to Southland.
East of the Main Divide and more frequent in Otago and Southland where it is common [J. Bannister, pers. comm.]. Widespread, but sparse to rare in any site – often small and easily overlooked.
Known also from South Africa, Australia and South America.
Habitat
On trees and shrubs (*Acer pseudoplatanus, Aristotelia serrata, Coprosma, *Crataegus, Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, Dacrydium cupressinum, Discaria toumatou, Elaeocarpus, Fuchsia excorticata, Kunzea ericoides agg., Fuscospora, Olearia virgata, Pennantia, Podocarpus totara, *Populus, Pseudopanax, Prumnopitys taxifolia, *Quercus, *Sorbus aucuparia), fence posts and occasionally on rocks, s.l. to 400 m.
Detailed description
Thallus corticolous and saxicolous, yellow-green to pale-green, shrubby to subpendulous, 1–3.5 cm long, branching irregular, dense. Holdfast delimited. Branches 0.2–2 mm wide, flat to subterete, often palmate at base to 6 mm broad, apically producing numerous fine, fibrillar branches. Surface smooth, sometimes wrinkled, shining or matt. Soralia occur in eroded patches at apices of lobes and where branches have split and flattened out. Apothecia rare, disc 2 mm diam., concave to plane, margins entire. Ascospores ellipsoidal, straight or curved, 10–12 × 4–4.5 μm.
Chemistry: Medulla K−; containing usnic and divaricatic acids.
Substrate
Corticolous, rarely saxicolous
Etymology
ramalina: Meaning small branches, twiggy.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (17 June 2023). Information in the 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.