Sticta cinereoglauca
Synonyms
Lobaria cinereoglauca, Sticta cinereoglauca var. viridis, Sticta sinuosa var. papyracea, Stictina cinereoglaucoides, Stictina taylori
Family
Peltigeraceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Foliose
Current conservation status
2018 | Not Threatened
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous (rarely saxicolous) habit; broadly rounded lobes with entire margins without soredia or isidia; a green photobiont; frequent red to red-brown apothecia usually clustered towards the lobe margins; and characteristic 5–7-septate ascospores, 42–50 × 7–9.5 μm.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Three Kings Islands) to Wellington. South Island: Nelson to Southland. Stewart Island.
It is most commonly collected from northern coastal forest north of Auckland and is widely represented in mid-nineteenth century collections from the Bay of Islands where it appears to have been first collected.
Habitat
Mainly coastal and lowland, especially in the north, although also in montane beech forest and mixed rainforest, s.l. to 600 m. On a variety of forest trees and shrubs including Avicennia marina subsp. in northern coastal habitats, Griselinia lucida, Kunzea robusta, Metrosideros excelsa, Myrsine australis and Fuscospora solandri; also on rotting logs, rarely on rocks.
Detailed description
Thallus orbicular to spreading, loosely to closely attached, 5-10(-15) cm diam., corticolous. Lobes broad, rounded, 0.5-2.5 mm wide, imbricate, folded, margins entire, sinuous or slightly notched or incised, often ± ascending at periphery. Upper surface bluish-grey to olive-greenish, often suffused-brownish especially towards apices, smooth, coriaceous or minutely wrinkled, rather papery. Lower surface pale buff to brown, ± densely tomentose from margins to centre, tomentum long, silky, white. Cyphellae white, scattered, 0.2-2.0 mm diam., with a conspicuous, raised margin. Apothecia frequent, clustered towards margins of lobes, sessile or subpedicellate, 0.2-3.0 mm diam., disc red or reddish-brown, matt, rarely glossy, plane to convex, margins pale, thin, often excluded at maturity, yellowish-buff or flesh-coloured, subcrenulate or denticulate. Ascospores 5-7-septate, elongate-ellipsoid, apices pointed, 36-58 × 5-7 µm.
Similar taxa
It is distinguished from Sticta subcaperata, which has thicker, more coriaceous lobes and apothecia with distinctive waxy yellow or orange-yellow discs. The phyllidiate northern species. S. babingtonii also has 7-septate spores, but the spores in this species are longer (45–61 μm), and it also has characteristic orange, pinkish or mustard-yellow cyphellae on the lower surface.
Substrate
Corticolous
Etymology
sticta: spotted, dappled
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (8 September 2021). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, Features and Similar taxa sections copied from Galloway (1985) & Galloway (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.