Stereocaulon corticatulum
Synonyms
Stereocaulon detergens, Stereocaulon corticatulum var. detergens, Stereocaulon corticatulum var. complanatum
Family
Stereocaulaceae
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 saxicolous habit; rather small pseudopodetia, 2–3 cm tall (rarely to 6 cm tall), branched in upper parts; the cortex continuous or in flaky patches; sparsely developed, sorediate phyllocladia; granular, effuse, white soredia, present on most parts of thallus, in part derived from breakdown of phyllocladia; and a chemistry of atranorin, rangiformic and norrangiformic acids.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Three Kings Is, Waipoua River, Little Barrier Island, Great Barrier Island, Helena Bay), Auckland (Anawhata, Waitakere Ranges, Cornwall Park, Rangitoto), South Auckland (Red Mercury Island, Motutapere Coromandel Peninsula, Te Aroha, Slipper Island), Gisborne (Lake Waikaremoana), Hawke’s Bay (Kaweka Ranges), Wellington (Ruapehu, Kapiti Island, Tararua Ranges, Hutt Valley, Somes Island, Puketoi Range, Cape Palliser). South Island: Nelson (Lake Rotoiti), Marlborough (d’Urville Island, Mt Stokes), Canterbury (Mt Trovatore, Arthur’s Pass, Waimakariri River, Hawdon River), Otago (Lake Ohau, Poolburn Reservoir, Lake Onslow, Lee Stream, Flagstaff, Mt Cargill, Abbott’s Hill), Southland (Secretary Island, Mt Burns, Borland Lodge, Grebe Valley, Monowai). Stewart Island: (Mt Anglem, Mt Allen, Tin Range, Magog, Cooks Arm, Islet Cove Port Pegasus). Campbell Island.
Austral. Known also from South and East Africa, South America, Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, and Australia.
Habitat
On rocks and stony debris, from exposed, subalpine grassland to deep shade in forest, s.l. to 2100 m, rarely on bitumen pavement.
Detailed description
Thallus rather small, to 2-3 cm tall, robust specimens to 6 cm tall, spreading, without a defined holdfast and often forming dense compact colonies amongst mosses or on small boulders and stones in damp places. Pseudopodetia smooth, rarely slightly furrowed, mostly ± terete or slightly flattened, becoming branched in upper parts, ± extensively corticate, cortex continuous or in flaky patches. Phyllocladia sparse and often poorly developed, ± indistinguishable from finer corticate pseudopodetial branches, or granular-papillate, spherical, rather variable in shape, sorediate. Soredia granular, white, present on most parts of the thallus, in part derived from the breakdown of phyllocladia. Cephalodia attached to main stems, sessile or shortly stalked, pale brownish-grey, rounded-globose at first, becoming scrobiculate-impressed, cortex smooth or slightly maculate. Apothecia rare, terminal, occasionally also lateral, to 1.5 mm diam., disc convex, brown or blackish-brown, immarginate. Hypothecium colourless. Ascospores acicular-fusiform, 3-septate, 35-50 × 2-3 µm.
Chemistry: Thallus K+ yellow, C−, KC− Pd−; containing; atranorin, rangiformic and norrangiformic acids.
Substrate
Saxicolous, more rarely on artificial surfaces (bitumen pavement)
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Melissa Hutchison (16 June 2023). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, and Features sections copied from Galloway (1985, 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.