Crocodia poculifera
Synonyms
Pseudocyphellaria poculifera
Family
Peltigeraceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Foliose
Current conservation status
2018 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: SO, Sp
Brief description
Characterised by a yellow medulla; a green algal photobiont; marginal and laminal isidia that are densely clustered, minutely coralloid, at length becoming eroded and appearing sorediate.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Three Kings Is) to Auckland, South Auckland (Coromandel Peninsula to Te Aroha).
Known also from East Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Norfolk I., Fiji, Lord Howe I., and Queensland. Palaeotropical.
Habitat
In mainly lowland, coastal habitats on twigs and bark of trees and shrubs and more rarely on sunny rocks, s.l. to 300 m.
Detailed description
Thallus orbicular to spreading, often free at margins, 5-10(-12) cm diam. Lobes laciniate-elongate, imbricate, margins wavy, crisped, minutely notched or incised, ± isidiate. Upper surface bright lettuce-green, tinged brownish at apices when wet, pale greenish-grey when dry, undulate, smooth, matt, minutely white-pubescent towards lobe apices, often faintly scabrid in patches. Medulla yellow. Photobiont green. Lower surface whitish to pale yellowish, suffused pinkish in parts, very finely tomentose to margins, tomentum sparse, short, white, soft. Pseudocyphellae scattered, yellow, effigurate to rounded, to 1.5 mm wide, flat. Apothecia 2-8mm diam., marginal or submarginal, distinctly pedicellate, disc dark red-brown, deeply concave, margins coarsely golden-sorediate, ± enclosed by verrucose-areolate, white tomentose, concolorous thalline exciple. Ascopores brown, fusiform, 1-3-septate, 18-21 × 6-7 µm.
May be parasitised by the lichenicolous fungi Arthonia fuscopurpurea and A. stictaria.
Chemistry: Pulvinic acid, pulvinic dilactone, calycin, 3β-acetoxyfern-9(11)-en-one, 3β-acetoxyfern-9(11)-en-12β-ol, fern-9(11)-ene-3β,12β-diol, 3β-acetoxyfern-9(11)-en-19β-ol, 3β-hydroxyfern-9(11)-en-12-one, and unidentified triterpenoids.
Similar taxa
Crocodia poculifera does not have the labriform marginal soralia characteristic of Crocodia aurata. It is distinguished from Crocodia rubella by the lack of surface tomentum and laminal soredia and a different chemistry; and from Podostictina pickeringii in the nature of the isidia, the structure of the exciple, and in the size and colour of the ascospores.
Substrate
Corticolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (April 2021). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, Features and Similar taxa sections copied from Galloway (1985) and 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.