Physcia albata
Synonyms
Parmelia albata F.Wilson
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 habit; the broad, rounded lobes with entire margins; the smooth, matt, epruinose upper surface; and soralia in spreading patches, arising from eroding pustules or papillae and spreading more widely over lamina, often exposing areas of white medulla beneath.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Radar Bush), Gisborne (Mt Taitai), Taranaki (Stratford). South Island: Nelson (Kaihoka, Roding River Valley), Otago (Makarora).
Known also from East and South Africa, South America, where it appears to be rare.
Habitat
On both native and introduced trees, especially common on *Acer pseudoplatanus, also on volcanic rocks.
Detailed description
Thallus orbicular to irregular, very variable in size, usually 5–10 cm diam., loosely attached. Lobes mostly broadly rounded, apices rounded and incised. Upper surface whitish grey, darkening at apices, usually without pruina; sorediate. Soralia laminal, maculiform initially as small pustules or cracks, joining to form larger, confluent patches. Soredia granular, whitish. Lower surface white to ash-grey, rarely darker, with numerous pale to grey-black, simple rhizines. Upper and lower cortices paraplectenchymatous. Apothecia rare (not seen in NZ material) to 3 mm diam., thalline margin smooth to crenulate, sometimes dissolving into soredia. Ascospores Pachysporaria -type, (17–)20–25 × 8–12 μm. Pycnidia rare.
Chemistry: Upper cortex and medulla K+ yellow; containing atranorin and zeorin.
Similar taxa
The non-sorediate counterpart species, Physcia dilatata, is so far not known from New Zealand.
Substrate
Corticolous, saxicolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (5 August 2022). 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.