OFF-PRINT New records of Ramalina (Ramalinaceae, Ascomycota) from the Cook Islands, South Paciic Ocean Dan Blanchon & Peter de Lange Australasian Lichenology 69 (July 2011), 4–10 AUSTRALASIAN LICHENOLOGY 69, July 2011 New records of Ramalina (Ramalinaceae, Ascomycota) from the Cook Islands, South Paciic Ocean Dan Blanchon Department of Natural Sciences Unitec Institute of Technology, Private Bag 92025 Auckland, New Zealand e-mail: dblanchon@unitec.ac.nz Peter de Lange Ecosystems and Species Unit, Research and Development Department of Conservation, Private Bag 68908 Newton, Auckland, New Zealand Abstract: Ramalina australiensis Nyl., R. microspora Kremp. and R. peruviana Ach. are reported for the irst time from the Cook Islands, South Paciic Ocean. Introduction Until relatively recently, the lichens of the Cook Islands were not well-known, the only signiicant attempt at documenting species being that of Sbarbaro (1939). Elix & McCarthy (1998) summarized current knowledge of the lichens from a number of Paciic Islands, including the Cook Islands, although they warned that not all the species identiications were reliable. Subsequently, reviews of the Parmeliaceae (Louwhoff & Elix 2000) and pyrenocarpous taxa (McCarthy 2000) were published. Sbarbaro (1939) reported six species of Ramalina (R. canaliculata (Fr.) Taylor, R. complanata Nyl., R. gracilenta Ach., R. subcomplanata Nyl., R. subfraxinea Nyl. and R. taitensis Nyl.). Elix & McCarthy (1998) listed seven (R. canaliculata, R. leiodea (Nyl.) Nyl., R. luciae Molho, Brodo, W.L.Culb. & C.F.Culb, R. paciica var. paciica Asah., R. subcomplanata, R. subfraxinea and R. tayloriana Zahlbr.). The records of R. leiodea, R. luciae and R. paciica had already been documented by Stevens (1982, 1983a), who also cited voucher specimens. Stevens (1983b) referred specimens of R. canaliculata with boninic acid to R. leiodea, and she noted that the name R. canaliculata (Fr.) Taylor is illegitimate, and neither it nor the correct name R. tayloriana is applicable to Paciic material. Therefore, it seems likely to us that the names R. canaliculata and R. tayloriana for the Cook Islands both refer to R. leiodea, although we have not seen the relevant specimens. This paper conirms ive species of Ramalina from Rarotonga and one from Mangaia; three species are added to the lichen lora of the Cook Islands. Materials and methods Twelve specimens were collected during two trips to Rarotonga (13–18 April, 2003, and 7–25 July, 2010) and one to Mangaia (13–18 April, 2003) (Fig. 1). Chemical constituents were identiied using standardized techniques of thin-layer chromatography (Culberson 1972, White & James 1985). Voucher specimens were deposited in the herbarium of Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, and Auckland War Memorial Museum herbarium (AK). Descriptions are based on Rarotongan material. New reports 1. Ramalina australiensis Nyl., Bull. Soc. Linn. Normandie, sér. 2, 4, 120 (1870) Fig. 2 Type: Western Australia, “prope Swan River”, 1846, Verreaux s.n. (H-NYL 37491 – holotype, PC – isotype, not seen) Thallus saxicolous, yellow-green, erect to subpendulous, 4–11 cm long; branching sparse in basal region, dense and irregular towards the apices where small branchlets proliferate; branch width 0.1–1.3 mm, primary branches subterete to slightly lattened, secondary branches ine and terete, apices curled or hooked; surface matt, longi- 4 AUSTRALASIAN LICHENOLOGY 69, July 2011 tudinally grooved near the base; linear pseudocyphellae present; holdfast delimited; soralia absent. Apothecia not seen. Chemistry: usnic acid in the cortex; no substances in the medulla. Remarks Ramalina australiensis is distinguished by the subterete to terete primary branches with dense secondary branching towards the apices, linear pseudocyphellae, and no medullary acids. The species is morphologically similar to R. peruviana, but lacks soralia and does not have sekikaic acid aggregate metabolites. Sparsely branched forms resemble the Australian species R. ilicaulis, but the latter does not usually have the proliferation of secondary branches near the apices. Saxicolous specimens of R. australiensis can approach the morphology of R. meridionalis, but that species lacks secondary branches and its medulla contains norstictic acid (K+ red). Ramalina australiensis is known also from Australia (Stevens 1987, McCarthy 2011), New Zealand (Blanchon et al. 1996a, Galloway 2007), the Kermadec Islands (Bannister & Blanchon 2003), Guam, the Hawaiian Islands and the Galapagos Islands (Elix & McCarthy 1998). On Rarotonga, it seems to be genuinely scarce—it was seen only once during a 10-day survey of the mountain ranges and valley systems. SPECIMEN EXAMINED Cook Islands: Rarotonga: • Maungatea Bluff, 21°13’17.59”S, 159°46’51.78”W, 246 m, uncommon. On exposed basalt rock outcrops within dense Tuanu’e (Dicranopteris linearis) fernland, P.J. de Lange CK73 & T.J. Martin, 7.vii.2010 (AK 323275). 2. Ramalina microspora Kremp., Verhandl. Zool.-bot. Ges. Wien 26, 435 (1876). Fig. 3 Type: Hawaiian Islands, Pali, auf felsen. H. Wawra 1738, 1868–1871 (W-holotype, not seen). Thallus saxicolous, orange-brown (possibly dead), caespitose, to 1 cm high. Branching dense, with many small lateral branches, anastomoses visible among the branches; branches narrow, subterete to lattened at the base, 0.2–1.4 mm wide, surface pitted and uneven; no pseudocyphellae seen; holdfast delimited and blackened. Apothecia common, subterminal, marginal, laminal and some geniculate, disc concave to plane when very young with a thick thalline margin, plane to convex, with a thin margin when mature, 1–4 mm in diameter. Ascospores 8 per ascus, elliptical, 1-septate, 9–14 µm long, 3–4 µm wide. Chemistry: cortex: usnic acid; medulla: divaricatic acid. Remarks The saxicolous Ramalina microspora is characterized by its densely branched caespitose thallus studded with subterminal and marginal apothecia, and a divaricatic acid chemistry. It has possible afinities with the evernic acid-containing R. litorea from Australia, Mauritius and Rodrigues Island (Stevens 1987). It was formerly known only from the Hawaiian Islands, where it grows on coastal cliffs (Smith 1991), and it is also present on the Kermadec Islands (Blanchon et al. 2012, in press). This specimen might have been dead at the time of collection, and was more robust than Hawaiian material. Ramalina microspora is probably uncommon on Rarotonga—it has not been recorded by past collectors, yet it grows in a coastal habitat that is easily reached by anyone. SPECIMEN EXAMINED Cook Islands: Rarotonga: • Muri Lagoon, Motu Oneroa, 21°14’S, 159°44’W, 1 m, on coral lying at the margin of beach and forest on a Motu. Uncommon, P.J. de Lange CK74, 23.vii.2010 (AK 323276). 3. Ramalina peruviana Ach., Lichenogr. Universalis 599 (1810) Fig. 4 Type: Peru, Lagasta s.n. (H-ACH – holotype; BM-ACH, UPS-ACH – isotypes, not seen). AUSTRALASIAN LICHENOLOGY 69, July 2011 5 Thallus corticolous, grey-green, tufted, up to 5 cm long; branching subdichotomous, intricate; branches 0.2–1.1 mm wide, subterete, slightly twisted and tangled, apices sharp; surface shiny, smooth, pseudocyphellae present; holdfast delimited; soralia punctiform, numerous, laminal, marginal and apical, small ibrils occasionally forming in soralia. Apothecia not seen. Chemistry: cortex: usnic acid; medulla: homosekikaic acid (major), sekikaic acid (major), and minor traces of two other acids. Remarks Ramalina peruviana is characterized by its thallus with dense subterete branches, numerous punctiform soralia, and the presence of the sekikaic acid aggregate in the medulla (including homosekikaic acid as a major component). Morphologically, it could be mistaken for several other species; however, R. australiensis lacks medullary acids and soralia, both R. luciae and R. paciica have dichotomous branching and round or ellipsoidal soralia, with R. luciae further lacking homosekikaic acid in any signiicant quantity, and R. paciica possessing salazinic acid instead of the sekikaic acid aggregate. Ramalina peruviana is also found in New Zealand, the Kermadec Islands, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island, and the Chatham Islands (Bannister & Blanchon 2003, Galloway 2007), Africa, Australia and South America (Stevens 1987), and Hawaii, Tahiti, New Caledonia, the Galapagos Islands and the Bonin Islands (Elix & McCarthy 1998). On Rarotonga it was frequently observed during a 10-day survey of the central mountain ranges and valleys, where it commonly grew with R. leiodea and R. luciae on the canopy branches of wind-shorn trees on steep ridgelines and valley heads. SPECIMEN EXAMINED Cook Islands: Rarotonga: • Maungatea, Upper Vaikapuangi Stream, 21°13’25.86”S, 159°46’56.48”W, 323 m, common. Growing on the canopy branches of pua (Fagraea berteroana), P.J. de Lange CK72 & T.J. Martin, 7.vii.2010 (AK 323274). Other species collected Ramalina luciae Molho, Brodo, W.L.Culb. & C.F.Culb., Bryologist 84, 396 (1981) Previously reported from Rarotonga by Stevens (1982, 1983a), Ramalina luciae is characterized by its dichotomously branched thallus with widely spaced branches, soralia both laminal and marginal, round or ellipsoidal, and the presence of the sekikaic acid aggregate in the medulla. One of the most abundant Ramalina species on Rarotonga, it is common from the coast to the summit of the main range, Te Manga (663 m a.s.l.). Along with R. leiodea it is common in village gardens and associated wasteland, and is especially prominent on the trunk and branches of Polyscias scutellaria, a shrub used widely by islanders for hedging to mark garden plots and land boundaries. Other common garden plant hosts include Hibiscus schizopetalus and H. rosa-sinensis. In wasteland and along the coastline it is frequently found with R. leiodea on the trunks of coconut (Cocos nucifera) palms. It is also known from Australia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia (Sulawesi), Kenya, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tahiti (Stevens 1983a, 1987), the Kermadec Islands (Blanchon et al. 1996a), and Niue (Blanchon et al. 1996b). SPECIMENS EXAMINED Cook Islands: Rarotonga: • Titikaveka, Nana’s House, 21°16’S, 159°46’W, c. 2 m, common on the bark of Polyscias scutellaria used for hedging, F.J.T. de Lange, 28.vii.2008 (AK 318416); • Maungatea Bluffs, “The Pinnacle”, 21°13’23”S, 159°46’49.5”W, 362 m, common on dead, exposed branchlets of mato (Homalium acuminatum) on steep rubbly slope leading to a small pinnacle of rock overlooking the eastern-most tributary to the Vaikapuangi Stream, P.J. de Lange CK50 & T.J. Martin, 6.vii.2010 (AK 317738); • Maungatea Bluff, Maungatea Ridgeline, 21°13’20.5”S, 159°46’49.68”W, 355 m, on 6 AUSTRALASIAN LICHENOLOGY 69, July 2011 Homalium acuminatum twigs in full sunlight, P.J. de Lange & T.J. Martin CK71, 7.vii.2010 (AK 323273). Mangaia: • Mangaia Lodge, 21°55’21.53”S, 157°57’16.9”W, 47 m, M. Galbraith, 14.iv.2003 (Unitec 004099); • Oneroa School, 21°55’23.64”S, 157°57’15.55”W, 15 m, M. Galbraith, 16.iv.2003 (Unitec 004098). Ramalina leiodea (Nyl.) Nyl., Lich. Nov. Zel. 22 (1888) Previously recorded for Rarotonga by Stevens (1982, 1983a), Ramalina leiodea is distinguished by the subdichotomous branching, common apothecia, the lack of soralia and the presence of boninic acid in the medulla. It is one of the most abundant species of Ramalina on Rarotonga, although it is less widely distributed than its common associate R. luciae. Ramalina leiodea is most commonly seen in coastal area and along the island’s ring plain. However, it does extend up to at least 500 m a.s.l., where it grows mostly on wind-shorn trees such as mato (Homalium acuminatum), pua (Fagraea berteroana), and rata (Metrosideros collina agg.). It occurs in the same sites and on the same hosts as R. luciae. It is also known from the Bonin Islands, Marianas Islands, Mauritius, Reunion, Australia, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and the Hawaiian Islands (Stevens 1987). SPECIMENS EXAMINED Cook Islands: Rarotonga: • Titikaveka, 21°16’S, 159°46’W, 1 m, local. Corticolous on Cocos nucifera. Associated also with Hibiscus tiliaceus, and Barringtonia asiatica, P.J. de Lange 4433, 3.ix.2000 (AK 281602); • Avarua, 21°12’18.77”S, 159°46’11.75”W, 7 m, on south face of coconut palm 4 m back from the high water mark, K.M. Simon, 18.iv.2003 (Unitec 004097); • Avarua, 21°12’23.07”S, 159°46’33.18”W, on iron bark, K.M. Simon, 18.iv.2003 (Unitec 004096); • Maungatea Bluff, Maungatea Ridgeline, 21°13’20.5”S, 159°46’49.68”W, 355 m, common on Homalium acuminatum branches. Associated with Ramalina luciae, P.J. de Lange & T.J. Martin CK70, 7.vii.2010 (AK 323272). Acknowledgements We thank Katrina Simon and Mel Galbraith for collections, and Ewen Cameron (AK) and the curators of MIN and MSC for loans of specimens, W for photographing the type specimen of Ramalina microspora, and Jennifer Bannister for her description of the type. PdL thanks Gerald McCormack (Director, Cook Islands Biodiversity and Natural Heritage) and Tim Martin (Wildlands New Zealand Ltd) for company in the ield. Jeremy Rolfe kindly prepared the map for Figure 1. We are grateful to Gerald McCormack, David Galloway and Jennifer Bannister for their comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. References Bannister, JM; Blanchon, DJ (2003): The lichen genus Ramalina Ach. (Ramalinaceae) on the outlying islands of the New Zealand geographic area. Lichenologist 35, 137–146. Blanchon, DJ; Braggins, JE; Stewart, A (1996a): The lichen genus Ramalina in New Zealand. Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory 79, 43–98. Blanchon, DJ; Easton, LE; Braggins, JE (1996b): New records of Ramalina (lichenised Ascomycotina, Ramalinaceae) from Niue Island, South-West Paciic. New Zealand Journal of Botany 34, 591–592. Blanchon, D; de Lange, P; Bannister, J (2012): Conirmation of Ramalina microspora Kremp. (Ramalinaceae, Ascomycota) for the Kermadec Islands. Australasian Lichenology 70 (in press). Culberson, CF (1972): Improved conditions and new data for the identiication of lichen products by a standardized thin-layer chromatographic method. Journal of Chromatography 72, 113–125. Elix, JA; McCarthy, PM (1998): Catalogue of the lichens of the smaller Paciic islands. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 70, 1–361. AUSTRALASIAN LICHENOLOGY 69, July 2011 7 Galloway, DJ (2007): Flora of New Zealand Lichens. Revised Second Edition Including Lichen-Forming and Lichenicolous Fungi. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln. Louwhoff, SHJJ; Elix, JA (2000): The lichens of Rarotonga, Cook Islands, South Paciic Ocean II: Parmeliaceae. Lichenologist 32, 49–55. McCarthy, PM (2000): The lichens of Rarotonga, Cook Islands, South Paciic Ocean I: Pyrenocarpous taxa. Lichenologist 32, 15–47. McCarthy, PM (2011): Checklist of the Lichens of Australia and its Island Territories. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. Version 25 February 2011. Sbarbaro, C (1939): Aliquot lichenes oceanici in Cook insulis (Tonga, Raro Tonga, Tongatabu, Eua) collecti. Archivo Botanico per la Sistematica, Fitogeographica e Genetica 15, 100–104. Smith, CN (1991): Lichen conservation in Hawaii. In Galloway, DJ (ed.) Tropical Lichens: Their Systematics, Conservation and Ecology. The Systematics Association Special Volume No. 43, 35–45. Clarendon Press, Oxford. Stevens, GN (1982): Ramalina leiodea (syn. R. boninensis) – a common maritime species from Oceania. Lichenologist 14, 39–45. Stevens, GN (1983a): Tropical-subtropical Ramalinae in the Ramalina farinacea complex. Lichenologist 15, 213–229. Stevens, GN (1983b): Clariication of the name Ramalina linearis. Lichenologist 15, 99–102. Stevens, GN (1987): The lichen genus Ramalina in Australia. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Botany Series 16, 107–223. White, FJ; James, PW (1985): A new guide to microchemical techniques for the identiication of lichen substances. British Lichen Society Bulletin 57 (supplement), 1–40. Fig. 2. Ramalina australiensis, AK 323275. 5 mm 5 mm Fig. 1. Position of Rarotonga and Mangaia in the Cook Islands. 8 AUSTRALASIAN LICHENOLOGY 69, July 2011 Fig. 3. Ramalina microspora, AK 323276. 1 mm AUSTRALASIAN LICHENOLOGY 69, July 2011 9 Fig. 4. Ramalina peruviana, AK 323274. 5 mm 10 View publication stats AUSTRALASIAN LICHENOLOGY 69, July 2011