Physcia adscendens
Common name
Hooded rosette lichen
Family
Physciaceae
Flora category
Lichen – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Lichens - Fruticose
Current conservation status
2018 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Brief description
Characterised by the corticolous/lignicolous/saxicolous habit; the long, white cilia on the lobe margins; and by the terminal, inflated lobe apices with helmet-shaped soralia.
Distribution
North Island: Northland (Whangarei) to Wellington. South Island: Nelson to Southland. Chatham Islands: (Big Bush).
One of the most catholic and widespread of lichens in New Zealand, and one able to withstand moderate to heavy amounts of atmospheric pollution (Johnson et al. 1998).
It is one of the most widespread of lichens and known also from Great Britain, Europe, Scandinavia, the Arctic, Israel, Turkey, the Ukraine, Asia, North, East and South Africa, North and South America, Hawai’i, and Australia.
Habitat
Very widely distributed on both native and introduced trees and shrubs, but especially common on fruit trees and ornamental trees in gardens and along roadsides, and on both basic (limestone) and acidic (basalt, greywacke, schist) rocks, on concrete asbestos sheeting, shadecloth, bitumen of footpaths and little-used roads, gravestones (often very well developed on both horizontal and vertical surfaces, and on surrounding concrete coping), iron railings, and sawn, treated wood (fenceposts, railings, gates etc.) and on old painted surfaces.
Detailed description
Thallus orbicular or confluent with other thalli, ± loosely attached, to 5 cm diam., corticolous, rarely saxicolous. Lobes variable, sometimes long and narrow, sometimes shorter and broader with long, terete, concolorous marginal cilia. Upper surface smooth, matt, greyish-blue to greenish-white. Soralia helmet-shaped, usually expanding on the underside forming rounded elevations visible from the upper side, soredia coarse, granular, white or greenish-white. Lower surface white to pale brown with sparse, blackened rhizines. Apothecia (not seen in New Zealand material) to 2 mm diam., disc often white-pruinose. Ascospores 16-23 × 7-10 µm. Pycnidia immersed. Conidia 4-6 × 1 µm.
Chemistry: Upper cortex K+ yellow; medulla K−; containing atranorin.
Similar taxa
It is the only member of the genus with marginal cilia.
Substrate
Corticolous, saxicolous, lignicolous (fence posts), artificial surfaces (concrete, asbestos sheeting, shadecloth, bitumen, roads, gravestones, iron railings, fenceposts, railings, gates)
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Melissa Hutchison (16 March 2022). 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.
Johnson P.N.; Burrows L.E.; and Galloway D.J. 1998: Air pollution indicators. Summary report of main findings. Sustainable Management Fund Project No. 5003. Landcare Research Contract Report LC9899/004 for the Ministry for the Environment. 42 pp. http://www.mfe.govt.nz/withyou/funding/smf/results/5003.pdf.