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 | ||
| Usnea rubicunda Stirt. | ||
| Scott. Naturalist (Perth) 6: 102 (1881). T: England, Holmes s.n.; holo: BM. | ||
| Thallus shrubby to straggly, erect to subpendulous, 6–15 (–30 cm) long, mottled green and red to shades of red only; branching subdichotomous to irregular; base black; trunk cracked, pale to red; branches terete, 0.5–1.0 mm wide; branchlets numerous; fibrils dense, rarely sparse, 3–5 mm long, with or without pseudocyphellae; papillae, if present, numerous and small, usually on primary and/or secondary branches only. Isidia arising directly from cortex or erupting from pseudocyphellae, sparse to dense, short; pseudocyphellae small, plane or punctiform and raised, becoming large with eruption of isidia; soralia absent. Cortex thick, glassy in appearance. Medulla dense; axis 1/2–3/4 width of branch, hyaline. Apothecia uncommon, terminal on small lateral branches, to 4 mm diam.; disc plane; fibrils sparse on margin; lower surface with fibrils, with or without isidia. Ascospores 8–10 × 5–6 µm. CHEMISTRY: Cortex containing usnic acid. Medulla K+ yellow; containing stictic acid (major), constictic acid (minor), norstictic acid (minor), menegazziaic acid (trace), cryptostictic acid (trace) and ±gyrophoric acid (trace). | ||
| Occurs in eastern Qld and north-eastern N.S.W. and the A.C.T.; grows on bark in rainforest and open forest, on fence posts; rarely on rocks. Cosmopolitan. | ||
| Stevens (2004) | ||
| Checklist Index |
| Introduction | A–D | E–O | P–R | S–Z | Oceanic Islands | References |
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