Tuatara: Volume 2, Issue 1, March 1949
A Note on the Crustaceous Lichens of New Zealand
A Note on the Crustaceous Lichens of New Zealand.
Crustaceous lichens are abundant in New Zealand both in species and individuals. They occur on rocks from sea-level to the upper limits of plant life. They are also plentiful on bark and soil, while one family is confined to the surface of leaves. Opinions differ greatly concerning the limits of families, genera and species, and for detailed knowledge intensive microscopic work is required. It is not impossible, however, to gain a good general knowledge of families and many genera by fairly simple observational methods. For ecological purposes this general knowledge is not to be despised as hitherto lichens have been sorely neglected in studies of vegetation. A difficulty is that there remain probably many hundreds of species yet to be collected and identified. Several overseas specialists are anxious to obtain specimens from New Zealand of their particular groups and a student desiring to make any special study would do well to get into touch with one of these workers. The numbers of the figures attached to this note follow on from those of the previous note in “Tuatara,” Vol. 1, No. 3.
Key To The Commoner Families.
1. | Fruit a perithecium (Fig. 8)—Pyrenocarpeae | 2 |
Fruit an apothecium (Figs. 9, 10, 11, 13)—Gymnocarpeae | 5 | |
2. | Plants found as small crusts on leaves | Strigulaceae |
Plants found on some other substratum | 3 | |
3. | Gonidia belong to Protococcaceae or Palmelia | Verrucariaceae |
Gonidia belonging to Trentepohlia | 4 | |
4. | Fruits occurring singly, without a stroma | Pyrenulaceae |
Fruits grouped in a stroma | Trypetheliaceae | |
5. | Mature spores lying loose in a powdery mass—Coniocarpineae | 6 |
Mature spores not as above | 7 | |
6. | Apothecia stalked | Caliciaceae |
Apothecia sessile | Cypheliaceae | |
7. | Apothecia elongate, with narrow slit-like openings—Graphidineae | 8 |
Apothecia circular and open—Cyclocarpineae | 9 | |
8. | Apothecia flat, not marginal | Arthoniaceae |
Apothecia raised, with distinct margin | Graphidaceae | |
9. | Apothecia without a thalline margin (Fig. 11) | 10 |
Apothecia with a thalline margin (Fig. 13) | 13 | |
10. | Gonidia belonging to Protococcaceae | 11 |
Gonidia belonging to Trentepohlia | 12 |
11. | Apothecia with prominent double margin | Diploschistaceae |
Apothecia without a double margin | Lecideaceae | |
12. | Apothecia with prominent double margin | Thelotremaceae |
Apothecia without a double margin | Lecanactidaceae | |
13. | Apothecia immersed in thalline tubercles | Pertusariaceae |
Apothecia not immersed in thalline tubercles | 14 | |
14. | Spores brown | Buelliaceae |
Spores colourless | 15 | |
15. | Spores simple or variously septate | Lecanoraceae |
Spores polarilocular | Caloplacaceae |
Key to Commoner Genera.
1. | Fruits immersed in pits in rock, especially limestone | 2 |
Fruits not immersed in pits in rock | 5 | |
2. | Fruit an apothecium | 3 |
Fruit a perithecium | 4 | |
3. | Spores colourless, thalline margin absent (Fig. 47) | Lecidea |
Spores brown or dark, thalline margin present | Rinodina | |
4. | Spores simple | Verrucaria |
Spores septate or muriform | Arthopyrenia | |
5. | Spores polarilocular, thallus yellowish | Blastenia |
Spores not polarilocular, thallus not yellowish | 6 | |
6. | Mature spores lying loose in a powdery mass | 7 |
Mature spores not lying loose in a powdery mass | 8 | |
7. | Apothecia stalked | Calicium |
Apothecia sessile | Cyphelium | |
8. | Fruits borne on podetia (Fig. 23) | 9 |
Fruits not borne on podetia | 10 | |
9. | Podetia hollow | Cladonia |
Podetia solid | Baeomyces | |
10. | Fruits elongate or radiate | 11 |
Fruits more or less circular | 18 | |
11. | Apothecia aggregated in wart-like parts of thallus | Enterographa |
Apothecia not so aggregated | 12 | |
12. | Apothecium without a proper margin | 13 |
Apothecium with proper margin (Fig. 13) | 14 | |
13. | Spores muriform | Arthothelium |
Spores septate | Arthonia | |
14. | Apothecia irregularly roundish | Lecanactis |
Apothecia linear | 15 | |
15. | Spores muriform | Graphina |
Spores septate | 16 | |
16. | Apothecia superficial | Opegrapha |
Apothecia immersed | 17 | |
17. | Spores colourless (Fig. 45) | Graphis |
Spores brown | Phaeographis |
18. | Fruit a perithecium | 19 |
Fruit an apothecium | 26 | |
19. | Perithecia more or less joined together | Melanotheca |
Perithecia scattered | 20 | |
20. | Gonidia green | 21 |
Gonidia orange or reddish | 23 | |
21. | Hymenium (Fig. 13) with algae cells | Staurothele |
Hymenium without algal cells | 22 | |
22. | Spores simple | Verrucaria |
Spores septate | Thelidium | |
23. | Paraphyses (Fig. 13) unbranched and distinct | 24 |
Paraphyses branched or entangled and obscure | 25 | |
24. | Spores brown | Pyrenula |
Spores colourless | Porina | |
25. | Spores colourless | Arthopyrenia |
Spores brown | Microthelia | |
26. | Apothecia seated in warts on thallus (verrucae) | Pertusaria |
Apothecia not seated in warts | 27 | |
27. | Apothecia with both proper and thalline margin | 28 |
Apothecia with one or no margin | 29 | |
28. | Gonidia green | Diploschistes |
Gonidia orange to reddish (Fig. 46) | Thelotrema | |
29. | Ascus (Fig. 13) with many spores | Candelariella |
Ascus with eight or fewer spores | 30 | |
30. | Apothecium with thalline margin | 31 |
Apothecium without thalline margin | 33 | |
31. | Spores simple (Fig. 42, 43) | Lecanora |
Spores septate or polarilocular | 32 | |
32. | Spores 1-septate, dark | Rinodina |
Spores several times septate (Fig. 40) | Haematomma | |
33. | Gonidia orange or reddish | 34 |
Gonidia green | 35 | |
34. | Apothecia dark | Lecanactis |
Apothecia brightly coloured | Microphiale | |
35. | Spores simple | Lecidea |
Spores septate or muriform | 36 | |
36. | Spores colourless or nearly so | 38 |
Spores brown or dark | 37 | |
37. | Spores muriform | Rhizocarpon |
Spores 1-septate | Buellia | |
38. | Ascus with a single large spore | Lopadium |
Ascus with eight or several spores | 39 | |
39. | Spores septate, acicular | Bacidia |
Spores muriform, oblong | Rhizocarpon |
STRIGULACEAE.—Two genera of this family are known in New Zealand on the leaves of tawa, titoki, ramarama, Asplenium and a few other trees and shrubs. Strigula has a more or less orbicular yellowish thallus, and Phylloporina a more irregular greyish thallus.
VERRUCARIACEAE.—Verrucaria is the genus most commonly met with in New Zealand. The species are most prevalent on coastal rocks, the thin dark thallus closely investing the rock-surface.
PYRENULACEAE.—Mostly bark-inhabiting species with several genera represented here. A species of Arthopyrenia forms tiny dark spots on sessile barnacles. There are several species of Pyrenula not easily distinguished in the field.
CALICIACEAE.—The stalked fruits of Calicium look like minute pins stuck on the thallus. The family has not been much studied in New Zealand.
CYPHELIACEAE.—A species of Cyphelium with a greyish thallus and uniseptate brown spores occurs on rock in tussock-grassland.
ARTHONIACEAE.—A few bark-inhabiting species of Arthothelium with muriform spores have been recorded. A. vermiferum forms small greyish flecks on the leaves of Metrosideros colensoi and other species.
GRAPHIDACEAE.—The family is widely distributed here, but has been little studied. The genera found are keyed.
1. | Cells of spores longer than wide, spores Fusiform | Opegrapha |
Cells of spores wider than long | 2 | |
2. | Spores brown, muriform | Phaeographina |
Spores colourless | 3 | |
3. | Spores multiseptate | Graphis |
Spores muriform | Graphina |
LECIDEACEAE.—A very large family with many genera and a multitude of species. Zahlbruckner lists over sixty species of Lecidea for New Zealand, others have been recorded and described, and probably many more await discovery.
1. | Spores simple | 2 |
Spores septate or muriform | 3 | |
2. | Spores thick-walled, large | Mycoblastus |
Spores thin-walled, small | Lecidea | |
3. | Spores 1-septate | 4 |
Spores 3- or more- septate, or muriform | 5 | |
4. | Spores thin-walled, small | Catillaria |
Spores thick-walled, large (Fig. 44) | Megalospora | |
5. | Spores muriform | 6 |
Spores septate, elongate | Bacidia |
6. | Spores colourless, plant on bark or leaves | Lopadium |
Spores brown or colourless, plant on rock | Rhizocarpon The genus Lecidia is divided into sections:— | |
1. | Thallus distinctly lobed on the margin | Psora |
Thallus not lobed on the margin | 2 | |
2. | Apothecia black, hard | Eulecidia |
Apothecia light in colour, waxy, soft | Biatora |
Catillaria is well represented, but the species are difficult to distinguish by simple characters. A few species of Megalospora have been recorded; M. marginiflexa is widely distributed on the bark of trees. Bacidia occurs on rock and bark, both coastally and inland. One species has been recorded from leaves of podocarps.
Toninia belongs to this family, but has a corticate, warted squamulose thallus. One species occurs on limestone. Lopadium—The several species of this genus recorded for New Zealand occur on leaves. L. coerulescens has a wide range of hosts, including Asplenium. Rhizocarpon has several species, of which R. geographicum with a greenishyellow thallus is widespread on rocks. It is striking on account of the more or less “map-like” arrangement on the rock surface.
THELOTREMACEAE.—We have a few species of Thelotrema with muriform spores. Surrounding the proper margin of the apothecium is an overarching thalline margin.
LECANACTIDACEAE.—The species of this family, related to the Graphidaceae, have a thin thallus. The proper margin of Lecanactis is quite prominent.
PERTUSARIACEAE.—The apothecia are immersed in thalline warts and the spores are simple. In Perforaria the apothecium has a small pore-like opening; P. cucurbitula is widely distributed and occurs on bark, rock, dead vegetation, moss and soil. We have about forty species of Pertusaria, in which the apothecia have a wide opening.
BUELLIACEAE.—Members of the family superficially resemble Lecideaceae, but the spores are brown and two-celled. We have a number of species of Buellia, mainly on rock. We have also several species of Rinodina, distinguished by the thalline margin to the apothecium.
LECANORACEAE.—A large family, well represented in New Zealand.
1. | Spores simple | 2 |
Spores not simple | 4 | |
2. | Thallus bright yellow | Candelariella |
Thallus usually greyish sometimes faintly yellowish | 3 | |
3. | Spores large (Fig. 41) | Ochrolechia |
Thallus usually greyish, sometimes faintly yellowish | 3 | |
Spores small | Lecanora |
4. | Spores muriform | Myxodictyon |
Spores elongate, septate | Haematomma |
CALOPLACACEAE.—Two genera are represented: Blastenia, the apothecia lacking a thalline margin; Caloplaca, the apothecia with a distinct thalline margin. The former is poorly represented, but we have some twenty species of Caloplaca, the small apothecia often light yellow or red.
Glossary.
- MURIFORM, of spores with cross walls giving an appearance like that of a brick wall.
- PALMELLA TYPE, of algae with more or less globose cells forming small colonies within a gelatinous sheath.
- PARAPHYSES, sterile filaments within the hymenium.
- POLARILOCULAR, of two-celled spores with a thick median wall perforated by a narrow tube.
- PROTOCOCCUS TYPE, of algae with globular single cells aggregated in loose colonies without an investing sheath.
- SEPTATE, of spores divided by walls into two or more cells.
- SIMPLE, of spores without dividing walls and so single-celled.
- STROMA, specialized portion of thallus in which the perithecia are immersed.
- TRENTEPOHLIA, filamentous alga with red or orange oil in the cells.
- VERRUCA, a wartlike protusion of the thallus.
Legends To Figures
The drawings have again been kindly contributed by Miss N. Adams, Botanical Artist to the Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
40. Haematomma puniceum.
41. Ochrolechia parella.
42. Lecanora dennanensis.
43. Lecanora pachypholis.
44. Megalospora marginiflexa.
45. Graphis tenella.
46. Thelotrema lepadinum.
47. Lecidea dunedina.