Phaeophyscia orbicularis
Synonyms
Lichen orbicularis
Family
Physciaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Foliose
Current conservation status
2018 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous/saxicolous habit; the adnate thallus; laminal, capitate to eroded soralia; apothecia sometimes with sorediate margins; and ascospores 18–26 × 7–11 μm.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Whangarei) to Wellington. South Island: Canterbury (Christchurch), Otago (Dunedin), Southland (Invercargill, Awarua).
Known also from Great Britain, Europe, Scandinavia, North America, Africa, and Australia.
Habitat
Throughout in urban areas on bark of introduced deciduous trees along roadsides and in parks and gardens; also on bird perching rocks in inland areas; and on old iron, and asbestos and fibrolite roofing materials of fertiliser works in Whangarei and New Plymouth and Awarua. It appears to be tolerant of moderate to heavy levels of atmospheric pollution.
Detailed description
Thallus orbicular, to 3 cm diam., sometimes confluent with other thalli, ± closely attached. Lobes radiating, to 1 mm wide, overlapping or indistinctly separated. Upper surface pale grey to dark brown, sometimes yellowish (skyrin), sorediate. Soralia laminal or marginal, ± capitate, sometimes spreading and covering large areas of thallus, white or yellowish (skyrin). Lower surface black, rhizinate. Rhizines simple, occasionally projecting beyond lobe margins. Apothecia ± central, rarely towards lobe apices, to 1.5 mm diam., with or without rhizines on lower side. Ascospores 18-26 × 7-11 µm.
Chemistry: TLC−, all reactions negative; or occasionally with traces of skyrin (K+ purple).
Substrate
Corticolous, saxicolous, artificial surfaces (iron, asbestos and fibrolite roofing materials)
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (18 February 2022). 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.