Trapeliopsis colensoi
Synonyms
Biatora colensoi, Lecidea colensoi, Psora colensoi
Family
Trapeliaceae
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 terricolous/corticolous habit; its swollen, overlapping, squamulose thallus; the glaucous greenish, to pale-greyish or fawn-grey, rather scabrid upper surface; the pale-greenish to whitish, marginal, labriform soralia; the orange-brown or yellowish lower surface; the purplish black confluent apothecia.
Distribution
North Island: Wellington (Ruahine Ranges, Tararua Ranges). South Island: Nelson (Mt Cobb, Hoary Head, Mt Aorere, Mt Owen, Mt Zetland), Marlborough (Mt Stokes), Canterbury (Boyle River, Temple Basin, Arthur’s Pass, Craigieburn Range), Otago (Park Pass Rockburn, Routeburn, Von River, Kakanui Mts, Mt Pisgah, Poolburn Reservoir, Lake Onslow, Blue Mountains), Southland (Longwood Range) both E and W of the Main Divide. Stewart Island.
Also in Australia (Victoria and Tasmania).
Habitat
On soil, peat, decaying stumps or dead tussock bases, mainly in subalpine habitats though it is also often found at margins of beech forest.
Detailed description
Thallus squamulose to small-foliose, squamules 1.5-2 mm diam., convex, orbicular to spreading, imbricate, ascending lobate, in patches to 8 cm diam., corticolous, lignicolous or terricolous. Upper surface glaucous-green to pale or whitish, smooth, matt, pruinose, occasionally sorediate, soralia marginal, labriform, soredia pale greenish, farinose. Lower cortex orange-brown or yellowish. Apothecia glaucous-brown to purplish-black, confluent, convex, immarginate. Ascospores ellipsoid, 11-14 × 5-7 µm.
Chemistry: Cortex C+ pinkish-red. Gyrophoric acid and 4 unidentified pigments.
Grassland specimens are sometimes parasitised by a minute, black perithecioid lichenicolous fungus.
Similar taxa
It is likely that the more widely distributed taxa, Trapeliopsis glaucolepidea and T. haumanii, that have wider, disjunct distributions (Europe, E Africa, tropical America and Papua New Guinea) are conspecific with T. colensoi, a question currently under investigation (Galloway 2007).
Substrate
Terricolous, corticolous (decaying stumps), graminicolous (dead tussock bases)
Etymology
colensoi: Named after William Colenso (7 November 1811 - 10 February 1899) who was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Melissa Hutchison (19 January 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.