Lobarina retigera
Common name
Smoker’s lung lichen
Synonyms
Lichen retiger Bory
Family
Peltigeraceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Foliose
Current conservation status
2018 | Data Deficient | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous habit; the reticulate-faveolate upper surface; laminal, terete to coralloid-branched isidia on the reticulate ridges; a cyanobacterial photobiont; and a reticulate dark tomentum on the lower surface.
Distribution
North Island: Northland, South Auckland (Kaueranga River, Coromandel Ranage; Mangaotaki Valley, King Country). Apparently rare and local.
It is also known from Japan and the Himalaya, Thailand, North America (Alaska, British Columbia), South America, South Africa, East Africa and Australia.
Habitat
Tolerant of deep shade in moist, humid habitats. Growing as an epiphyte of Dacrycarpus dacrydioides or among mosses on the forest floor, where it is often overlooked.
Detailed description
Thallus foliose, lobate, firmly attached centrally, ± free at margins, spreading, to 12 cm diam., corticolous rarely terricolous or muscicolous. Lobes irregularly to dichotomously branched, margins entire, not sorediate or phyllidiate, free and subascendent. Upper surface distinctly reticulate-faveolate with conspicuous faveolae and strongly developed interconnecting ridges which are often isidiate, matt, dark brownish-black when wet, olive-brown or buff when dry, lacking soredia, phyllidia or pseudocyphellae. Isidia laminal, mainly on reticulate ridges, simple, rather fragile, terete, becoming coralloid-branched with age, less than 0.5 mm tall, concolorous with thallus, not becoming sorediate. Medulla white. Lower surface with marked, pale brown, bullate, naked areas separated by a network of dark tomentum which extends to the margin, rhizines few to numerous, simple or squarrose, dark brown, central. Apothecia and pycnidia not seen in New Zealand material.
Chemistry: Cortex K−; medulla K−, C−, KC−. Pd−; containing retigeranic acid A (minor), retigeranic acid B (major), retigeranic acid C (minor), retigeranic acid D (tr.) and thelephoric acid in tomentum.
Similar taxa
Seperated from L. dictyophora by the the upper surface faveolate-ridged, isidia simple, terete, fragile, delicate, mainly on ridges of upper surface, lower surface bullate, compared with a upper surface that is undulate, not faveolate-ridged, isidia ± coralloid-branched, apices globose, mainly laminal often in a thick, diffract crust, lower surface ± smooth or undulate, not bullate.
New Zealand material approaches the recently described L. pseudoretigera Sipman from Papua New Guinea. For a discussion of L. retigera s. str., and L. pseudoretigera.
Substrate
Corticolous, terricolous, muscicolous
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (8 August 2021). Brief description, Distribution, Habitat, Features, and Similar taxa 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.