Australian Biological Resources Study
| Checklist of the Lichens of Australia and its Island Territories | ||
| Introduction | A–D | E–O | P–R | S–Z | Oceanic Islands | References | ||
| Fuscidea australis Kantvilas var. australis | ||
| Biblioth. Lichenol. 78: 176 (2001).T: Warra LTER site, west of Tomalah C, Tas., 43°05’S, 146°39’E, 270 m, on canopy twigs of Nothofagus cunninghamii in Eucalyptus obliqua-dominated mixed forest, 7 Dec. 1999, G.Kantvilas 392/99; holo: HO; iso: BG, BM. | ||
| Thallus usually dull brown or olive-brown, rarely pale olive-grey, occurring in irregular patches mostly to 3 cm wide, esorediate, typically lacking a well-developed marginal prothallus, sometimes becoming confluent and forming larger colonies, especially along twigs or small branches, mostly rather patchy and discontinuous and composed of irregular and unevenly lumpy areoles or verrucae, more rarely ±smooth and continuous, 40–200 µm thick; photobiont cells ±roundish, 10–15 µm wide; medulla I–. Apothecia numerous, sessile, constricted at the base, roundish or irregularly flexuose and lobed, sometimes deeply so, 0.25–1.0 (–1.5) mm wide, 160–250 µm thick; disc ±persistently plane, black, dark brown or reddish brown, epruinose, sometimes glossy; margin persistent, glossy, concolorous with the disc or somewhat paler, mostly brownish or rarely pale brown-grey, especially at the outer edges, flexuous, ±level with or extending slightly above the disc. Excipulum in section 20–30 µm thick, olive-brown at the outer edge, becoming dilute and hyaline within, with the pigments unchanged or intensifying olive in KOH. Hypothecium hyaline to pale brown, sometimes partly and weakly I+ pale purple, 70–150 µm thick, frequently inspersed with oil droplets 2–8 µm diam. Hymenium hyaline, occasionally inspersed with oil droplets, I+ purple-blue, 50–75 µm thick, with a dark olive-brown epihymenial zone 5–10 µm thick, composed of the pigmented upper portions of the paraphyses. Paraphyses 2.0–2.5 µm thick, simple or occasionally anastomosing, especially at the base, with apices expanded to 4–6 µm and pigmented brown to olive-brown. Asci 40–60 × 9–13 µm. Ascospores simple or rarely 1-septate, colourless or occasionally somewhat pale brownish, typically bean-shaped, or ellipsoidal, rarely somewhat constricted in the centre, (8–) 9–12 × (2.5–) 3.0–5.0 (–6.0) µm. Pycnidia semi-immersed. Conidia 2.5–4.0 × 1.2–2.0 µm. CHEMISTRY: Thallus K–, C–, KC–, Pd+ red, UV–; containing fumarprotocetraric acid, ±traces of confumarprotocetraric, protocetraric and succinprotocetraric acids. | ||
| Widespread in south-eastern Australia (N.S.W., A.C.T., Vic. and Tas.); especially common in Tas. where it occurs on canopy twigs in cool-temperate rainforest, in heathland and scrub at the margins of rainforest, or on mature understorey trees in eucalypt-dominated forests. Rarely found on rocks in high rainfall areas or at high elevations, particularly on hard siliceous types such as quartzite, Ordovician conglomerate and metamorphosed Precambrian sediments. | ||
| Kantvilas (2004e) | ||
| Checklist Index |
| Introduction | A–D | E–O | P–R | S–Z | Oceanic Islands | References |
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from Australian Biological Resources Study. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed in the first instance to Dr P. McCarthy. These pages may not be displayed on, or downloaded to, any other server without the express permission of ABRS.