Pseudocyphellaria granulata
Synonyms
Lobaria granulata, Phaeosticta granulata, Sticta granulata, Stictina carpoloma ssp. granulata, Sticta richardi var. granulata
Family
Lobariaceae
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 deeply incised, linear-elongate to broadly rounded lobes with irregular, ragged or incised-crenulate, sorediate-eroded margins; a plane to punctate-impressed to faveolate upper surface with erumpent, pustulate soralia on lamina or on ridges; a white medulla; a green photobiont; a uniformly black lower surface or glabrous marginally, and with scattered white pseudocyphellae; sessile to pedicellate, rather rare apothecia, the disc black, coarsely white-pruinose at first; a smoky grey to olive-brown epithecium turning purple-violet in K; and a complex chemistry of hopane triterpenoids and stictic acid metabolites with physciosporin as a characteristic component.
Pseudocyphellaria granulata is the most widespread sorediate species of the genus in New Zealand and is the sorediate counterpart species of P. faveolata. Babington when describing it in 1855 noted “… The olive-green colour, the scrobiculated thallus, and, above all, the tendency of the plant to produce copious dirty coralline pulvinate soredia, often covering the centre, and the irregular, ill-developed, dirty yellow cyphellae, are its most obvious characters…”. Apart from the pseudocyphellae which are white, this is an accurate description… one which is not easily confused with any other species.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Bay of Islands) to Cook Strait. South Island: Nelson to Southland, both E and W of the Main Divide. Stewart Island: (N coast to Port Pegasus).
Known also from East Australia and Tasmania and southern South America.
Habitat
An epiphyte of lowland coastal forest and scrub trees and shrubs and often common on Fuchsia and Leptospermum; also on rocks in tussock grassland and on dead stumps, s.l. to 1000 m.
Detailed description
Thallus laciniate-lobate, spreading, ± loosely attached, 10-15(-25) cm diam. Lobes deeply incised, ± linear-elongate, margins very irregular, often lacerate- ragged and ± ascending, or flat, ± densely granular-sorediate. Upper surface glaucous green or fawn to olivaceous when wet, greyish-fawn when dry, thick, coriaceous, smooth to ± reticulate-faveolate, ridges low, ± sorediate. Soredia coarse, granular, whitish at first becoming superficially blackened. Medulla white. Photobiont green. Lower surface tomentose to margins, tomentum thick, regular, even, dark brown to blackish. Pseudocyphellae white, conspicuous. Apothecia marginal or submarginal, sessile or subpedicellate, disc 1-2 mm diam., smooth, dark brown or blackish, matt, margins concolorous with thallus, ± sorediate, thalline exciple smooth. Ascospores brown to blackish, polaribilocular, 27-30 × 9-12 µm.
Chemistry: hopane 6α,7β,22-triol, 6α-acetoxyhopan-7β–22-diol (minor), 7β-acetoxyhopan-6α,22-diol (tr.), hopane-7β,22-diol (minor), hopane-15α,22-diol (tr.), 7β-acetoxyhopan-22-ol (tr.), methyl virensate, physciosoporin (major), stictic, constictic, norstictic (tr.), and cryptostictic (tr.) acids.
Substrate
Corticolous, occasionally saxicolous or lignicolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Melissa Hutchison (28 March 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.