Caloplaca maculata
| Caloplaca maculata | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Teloschistales |
| Family: | Teloschistaceae |
| Genus: | Caloplaca |
| Species: | C. maculata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Caloplaca maculata | |
Caloplaca maculata is a species of lichenized fungi endemic to New Zealand.
Systematics[edit]
Caloplaca maculata was first described by lichenologist David Galloway in 2004; the type specimen was collected from a rocky shoreline on Chatham Island, the largest island in an archipelago off New Zealand's South Island.[1] The genus name Caloplaca means "beautiful patches",[2] while the species name maculata is derived from the Latin maculātus, meaning "to cover with stains" or "to mark with coloured patches".[3]
Description[edit]
Caloplaca maculata is a crustose lichen which grows in irregular rosettes measuring 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) in diameter.[4] The thallus (the vegetative body of the lichen) is pale greenish-white when wet and greyish-white when dry, without a noticeable prothallus. Its surface is areolate, broken into angular polygons separated by deep cracks. The disc-like apothecia (the lichen's fruiting bodies) are large and conspicuous: orange when dry and clear yellow when wet. These are sessile – attached directly at their base to the thallus without a stalk.[1]
Chemistry[edit]
In spot tests, the thallus is K− and the apothecia are K+, turning a reddish purple. Secondary metabolites include parietin.[4]
Habitat and range[edit]
Although Caloplaca maculata was initially thought to be endemic to Chatham Island, it has since been found on other islands in the same archipelago, and on New Zealand's South Island.[5] It is saxicolous, growing on tuffaceous rock outcrops and basalt, typically in more sheltered locations along the coast.[6] It has been found growing amongst other lichen species, including Caloplaca litoralis, Dufourea ligulata, Myriolecis dispersa, Pertusaria graphica, Physcia caesia and members of the genera Amandinea, Buellia and Caloplaca.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Galloway 2004, p. 106.
- ^ Dobson 2011, p. 101.
- ^ Merriam-Webster 2023.
- ^ a b Ford 2022.
- ^ de Lange et al. 2021, p. 3.
- ^ de Lange et al. 2021, pp. 3–4.
- ^ de Lange et al. 2021, p. 4.
Sources[edit]
- Ford, Marley (16 February 2022). "Caloplaca maculata". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- de Lange, Peter J.; de Lange, Theo J. P.; Hitchon, Tom; Patterson, Erin (May 2021). "New Chatham Islands locations for Caloplaca maculata D.J.Galloway (Teloschistaceae)". Trilepidea: Newsletter of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. No. 207.
- Dobson, Frank S. (2011). Lichens: An Illustrated Guide to the British and Irish Species. Slough, UK: Richmond Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85546-315-1.
- Galloway, D. J. (2004). "New lichen taxa and names in the New Zealand mycobiota". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 42 (1): 105–120. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2004.9512893.
- "Maculate". Merriam-Webster. 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.