TANE 22, 1976

LICHENS OF G R E A T MERCURY ISLAND

by Glenys C. Hayward* 1 , B.W. Hayward* 2 and D.J . Galloway f •Botany 1 and Paleobiology2 Depts., Smithsonian Institution,

Washington D.C. 20560, U.S.A. fDept of Botany, British Museum (Natural History), London SW7, England

(Permanent address: Botany Division, D.S.I.R., Private Bag, Christchurch, New Zealand).

S U M M A R Y One hundred and four species from forty-one genera are recorded from

Great Mercury Island. The lichen communities are described and compared to those of other areas and islands of the northeast coast o f New Zealand. Graphina subvelata (Strtn.) Zahlbr. is recorded from New Zealand for the first time.

I N T R O D U C T I O N The lichens recorded here were collected by the senior authors ( G . C . H .

and B.W.H.) during the A . U . F . C . scientific trip to Great Mercury Island (Fig. 1) in May 1975. The junior author (D.J .G.) is responsible for species identifications of the Collemataceae, Physciaceae, Ramalinaceae, Tricholomataceae and Usnea, and many of the Cladoniaceae and Pannariaceae. Dr Mason E . Hale, Smithsonian Institution, identified the species of the Thelotremataceae and checked identifications of the Parmeliaceae.

Voucher specimens of all of the lichens are held in the herbarium of G .C . and B .W.H. with many duplicates held by D . J .G . ( B M and C H R ) .

The lichens are arranged alphabetically according to the phylogenetic classification of Henssen and Jahns (1974), except for generic revision in the Parmeliaceae which follows Hale (1974a, b, c).

SPECIES LIST

Substrate: soil rocks trees fence charred wood

Habitat:

M

maritime, marine grassland manuka heath Weinmannia-Myrsine-Knightia-Leptospermum bush Metrosideros-Macropiper-Leptospermum bush Motururuku, The Sisters

CLASS ASCOMYCETES

ORDER LECANORALES Suborder Lecanorinieae

Baeomycetaceae Baeomyces fungoides (Sw.) Ach. B. heteromorphus Nyl.

3s,4s 4s

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Fig. 1. Lower left - Map of Coromandel Peninsula showing location of Great Mercury Island and other localities from which lichens have been collected and studied. Upper -Generalised vegetation map of Great Mercury Island showing distribution of habitats.

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Cladoniaceae Cladia aggregata (Sw.) Nyl. 2r,3i s,4s Cladonia borbonica Nyl. 3s C. capitellata (Tayl.) Bab. 2ch,r,3s,4s C. cf. cenotea (Ach.) Schaer. 3s C. cervicornis Ach. 3 s C. chlorophaea (Floerke) Spreng. 3s C. subulata (L.) Wigg. 3s C. fimbriata (L.) Fr. 2ch s,3ch t C. floerkeana (Fr.) Floerke 2ch,3t C. cf. gracilis (L.) Willd. 2ch,3s C. cf. hypoxantha Tuck. 3t C. leptoclada Des. Abb. 3s,4s C. cf. nemoxyna (Ach.) Nyl. 3s C. pityrea (Floerke) Fr. 3s,4s C. polycarpoides Nyl. 3s C. scabriuscula Sandst. 2ch,3s,4s C. ?squamosa (Scop.) Hoffm. 3s C. subcariosa (Nyl.) Vain. 3s C. turgida (Ehr.) Hoffm. 3s C. verticillata (Hoffm.) Schaer 2ch Cladonia sp. 2f Sphaerophoropsis stereocauloides Lamb. 3t Thysanothecium hyalinum (Tayl.) Nyl. 2ch

Coccocarpiaceae Coccocarpia cf. cronia Tuck. 3t,5t Collemataceae Collema cf. subflaccidum Degel. 3t,5t

C. laeve Hook. f. and Tayl. 3t Leptogium cf. austroamericanum (Malme) Dodge 5t L. azureum (Sw.) Mont. 3t L. cyanescens (Ach.) Kremp. 3t,5s

Lecanoraceae Lecanora spp. 4t,5r t Lecideaceae Lecidea spp. lr,2f r t,4t,M

Megalospora marginiflexa (Hook.f. & Tayl.) Zahlbr. 4t Pannariaceae Pannaria fulvescens Nyl. 4t

P. cf. gemmascens Nyl. 3t P. granulifera Mull. Arg. lr P. immixta Nyl. 4t Pannaria n.sp. lr,2r,3t,4t,5t Parmeliella duplicata Mull. Arg. 4r t P. nigrocincta Mull. Arg. 3t,4t Psoroma araneosum Nyl. 3t,5t P. anthroophyllum Stirt. 5t P. leprolomum (Nyl.) Ras. 3t P. sphinctrinum Nyl. 3t,4t

Parmeliaceae Hypogymnia subphysodes Kremp. 4r s,5t Menegazzia circumsorediata Sant. 4t Parmelia horrescens Tayl. 5r "P. (Xanthoparmelia) isidiigera (Mull. Arg.) Gyeln." lr,2f r s t,M Parmelia (Melanoparmelia) sp. 2r Parmotrema cetratum (Ach.) Hale 2r,5t,M P. crinitum (Ach.) Choisy lr,2r P. grayanum (Hue) Hale 2r P. mellissii (Dodge) Hale 4t,5r t P. perlatum (Huds.) Choisy 2r

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P. reticulatum (Tayl.) Choisy lr,2frt P. subtinctorium (Zahlbr.) Hale M Pseudoparmelia soredians (Nyl.) Hale 2f Xanthoparmelia furcata (Mull. Arg.) Hale lr,2r Usnea arida Mot. 2f,r t,3t U. inermis 2f r t,5t U. cf. neocaledonica Mot. 4t U. xanthopoga Stirtn. 3t

Ramalinaceae Ramalina allanii Zahlbr. l r ,M R. linearis Ach. 2r,3t R. cf. menziesii Tayl. lr,2r,M R. yemensis Nyl. lr,2f r t

Stereocaulaceae Stereocaulon ramulosum (Sw.) Rausch. 2r s,3r s,4r

Suborder Lichinineae Lichinaceae Lichina confirm (O.F. Mull.) C.Ag. lr

Suborder Peltigerineae Peltigeraceae Peltigera dolichorhiza (Nyl.) Nyl. 3s Stictaceae Pseudocyphellaria argyracea (Del.) Vain. 3t,4t

P. aurata (Ach.) Vain. lr,2r,3s t,4t,5t P. cinnamomea Vain. 4s,5r P. crocata (L.) Vain. lr,2r,5t P. episticta (Nyl.) Vain. 3t,4t,5t P. flavicans (Hook.f.) Vain. 3t,4t,5t Sticta glaucolurida Nyl. 4t S. latifrons Rich. 4t S. psilophylla Mull. Arg. 3t S. sylvatica (Huds.) Ach. 3s,4t

Suborder Teloschistineae Teloschistaceae Caloplaca holocarpa (Hoffm.) Wade lr

Caloplaca spp. lr,2r Teloschistes chrysophthalmus (L.) Th.Fr. 3t Xanthoria parietina (L.) Th.Fr. lr,2f r,M

Suborder Physciineae Physciaceae Buellia spp. lr,2r t,M

"Anaptychia boryii (Fee) Massal" 5t "A. japonica (Sato) Kurok." lr,2r,3s,4t,5t Heterodermia cf. dendritica (Pers) Poelt. lr,2f,5r H. pseudospeciosa (Kurok.) Culb. 2f r,M Physcia cf. tribacioides Nyl. M

Suborder Pertusariineae Pertusariaceae Pertusaria spp. lr,2r,3t,4t,5t

Placopsis sp. lr

ORDER OSTROPALES

Suborder Ostropineae Thelotremataceae Thelotrema lepadinum Ach. 5t

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Fie. 2 Parmeliaceae from Great Mercury Island, a - Parmotrema cetratum. b - P. perlatum showing STc - P. mellissii showing marginal cilia. d - narrow lobed Xanthoparmelia furcata. (All x 3).

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Suborder Graphidineae Graphidaceae Graphina subvelata (Strtn.) Zahlbr.

Graphis sp. 3t 21

ORDER VERRUCARIALES Verrucariaceae Verrucaria maura Wahlenb. ex Ach. l r

ORDER ARTHONIALES Opegraphaceae Opegrapha spp. 2f,3t

CLASS BASIDIOMYCETES

ORDER AGARICALES Tricholomataceae Normandina pulchella (Borr.) Nyl. 3s

Note: "P. (Xanthoparmelia) isidiigera (Mull.Arg.) Gyeln." is invalid because of an earlier P. isidiigera (Mull.Arg.) Vainio (Mem. Herb. Bois 5: 6, 1900) which was based on an African specimen (P. adplanta f. isidiigera Mull. Arg.). Gyelnik's combination was based on P. conspersa var. laxa f. isidiigera Mull. Arg. from Australia. This is a good species but the taxonomy remains to be solved.

C O M P A R I S O N W I T H N E I G H B O U R I N G A R E A S The northern part of Great Mercury Island is farmed grassland with small

patches of manuka and gorse (Fig. 1). The lichens growing on the rocks, fences and occasional trees in this area are essentially the same as those in similar habitats on Slipper Island (Hayward & Hayward 1974a) and the slopes of Mt Maungatawhiri (Hayward et al 1975).

Rock-inhabiting, intertidal and maritime lichens are abundant around the Great Mercury coastline and conform to the zonation patterns described in detail from Slipper Island (Hayward & Hayward 1974a).

The Great Mercury Island lichen list reflects the vast area of grassland in the north and manuka-gorse in the south. A number of epigean (soil-inhabiting) manuka heath lichens (Cladia aggregata and Cladonia spp.) are recorded but these only occur where the heath is well-established and little grazed and trampled by stock.

Forest species are well-represented in the list but only occur in scattered patches of remaining native bush. Patches of dense-canopied coastal forest consisting of pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), kanuka (Leptospermum ericoides) and kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum) occur at Paritu and Urututu (habitat 5). These support a limited variety of epiphytic and saxicolous lichens, especially those containing blue-green phycobionts (e.g. Coccocarpia, Collema, Pannaria, Pseudocyphellaria crocata).

A patch of more varied coastal forest having a semi-open canopy dominated by kanuka, rewarewa (Knightia excelsa), mapou (Myrsine australis) and towai (Weinmannia sylvicola), occurs 400m inland from Peach Grove (habitat 4). The most diverse assemblage of forest lichens found on Great Mercury occurs here and includes many but not all of the rata forest lichens

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found at Maungatawhiri (Hayward et al 1975) and coastal forest lichens found on Shoe Island (Hayward and Hayward 1974a). Noteable absences are Catillaria kelica, Coenogonium implexum, Clathroporina endochrysea, Psoroma sphinctrinum, Sticta coriacea and S. variabilis. Only one specimen of the distinctive stipitate lichen Sticta latifrons was found on Great Mercury in contrast to its abundance in the rata forest of Maungatawhiri, and the kauri forests of Northland (Hayward & Hayward 1974b) and Great Barrier Island (Hayward & Hayward 1973a). It would appear that this lichen is not a coastal species as it has not been found on Red Mercury Island, Whale Island, Aldermen Islands, Shoe Island or the Slipper Island Group (Puch 1972; Hayward & Hayward 1973b, 1974a).

The forest lichen Menegazzia is extremely rare on Great Mercury and other parts o f Coromandel Peninsula and its offshore islands that have been visited by the authors. No small lobed or isidiate species have yet been found. Other rare lichens on Great Mercury are Baeomyces spp., Hypogymnia and Teloschistes.

Not surprisingly, many of the common forest lichens o f higher altitudes on the Coromandel Peninsula (Hayward et al 1975) were not recorded from Great Mercury Island. These include Lobaria montagnei, Sphaerophorus spp., Sticta delisea and S. filix.

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S Thanks are due to Dr Mason E . Hale for identifying specimens and for

critically reading the manuscript, and to members of the Auckland University Field Club who helped in many ways during the trip.

REFERENCES Hale, M.E. 1974a: New combinations in the lichen genus Parmotrema Massalonga.

Phytologia 28(4): 334-339. Hale, M.E. 1974b: Bulbothrix. Parmelina, Relicina and Xanthoparmelia, four new genera in

the Parmeliaceae (Lichenes). Phytologia 28(5): 479-490. Hale, M.E. 1974c: New combinations in the lichen genus Pseudoparmelia Lynge. Phytologia

29(3): 188-191. Hayward, B.W. & Hayward G.C. 1973a: Lichens from part of Great Barrier Island. Tane 19:

189-191. Hayward, B.W. & Hayward, G.C. 1973b: A summary of lichen associations in different

habitats from four offshore islands, north-east New Zealand. Tane 19: 205-211. Hayward, B.W. & Hayward, G.C. 1974a: Botany of Shoe Island and the Slipper Island

Group - Coromandel Peninsula. Part III. Lichens. Tane 20: 72-85. Hayward, B.W. & Hayward, G.C. 1974b: Lichen flora of the Kawerua area. Tane 20:

124-139. Hayward, B.W., Hayward, G.C. & Galloway, D.J. 1975: Lichens from northern Coromandel

Peninsula, New Zealand. Tane 21: 15-27. Henssen, A. & Jahns, H.M. 1974: "Lichenes". George Thierme, Stuttgart. 467pp. Puch, G.C. 1972: The lichens of Red Mercury Island. Tane 18: 35-39.

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