Lecanora expallens
Family
Lecanoraceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Crustose
Current conservation status
2018 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous habit; the effuse, granular–scurfy, abundantly sorediate, pale yellow-green thallus, which is C+ orange (thiophanic acid). Apothecia may be present or absent. When present, the disc is waxy yellow, epruinose, the thalline margin thin to thick, verruculose, sorediate and concolorous with the thallus.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Whangarei), Auckland (Victoria Park, Domain), South Auckland (Huntly, Te Kuiti).
Known also from Great Britain, Scandinavia, Europe, and North America.
Habitat
On bark and decorticated wood of both native and introduced trees. Probably more widespread in urban environments, but still very much under-collected.
Detailed description
Thallus effuse, granular–scurfy, pale yellow-green, abundantly sorediate, spreading in irregular patches, 2–5(–10) cm diam. Apothecia crowded to sparse or absent, in small groups of 6–8(–12) when present, solitary to crowded, 0.2–0.5(–0.8) mm diam., disc plane to subconvex, yellow to yellowish fawn, matt to slightly waxy, epruinose, margins thin to thick, warty, sorediate, concolorous with thallus. Epithecium pale yellowish to brownish, granular, granules dissolving in K. Hymenium colourless, 35–55 μm tall. Hypothecium colourless, 90–129(–140) μm thick. Ascospores broadly ellipsoidal, 9–15 × 3–6(–9) μm.
Chemistry: Soralia and apothecial margins K+ yellow, C+ orange, Pd−; containing usnic acid, zeorin, thiophanic acid and two unidentified xanthones.
Substrate
Corticolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (12 February 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.