Art. V.—List of Lichens and Fungi collected in the Kermadec Islands in 1908.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 44, 1911, Page 86

Art. V.—List of Lichens and Fungi collected in the Kermadec Islands in 1908. By W. R. B. Oliver. [Read before the Auckland Institute, 28th November, 1911.] Through the kindness of Mr. T. F. Cheeseman, F.L.S., who forwarded the lichens and fungi which I collected on Sunday Island to the Director of the Kew Botanical Gardens, and subsequently furnished me with the names of the species represented, I am able to publish the following list. The fungi were identified by Mr. George Massee, and the lichens by Mr. A. D. Cotton. I know of no record of fungi from the Kermadecs, but in the “Handbook of the New Zealand Flora” (1864–66) Sir J. D. Hooker has recorded two lichens—Cladonia furcata and Lecidea intermixta—collected by Mr. J. Milne, who visited the group in H.M.S. “Herald” in 1854. Neither of these was collected by me. Lichens and the fungus Scorias spongiosa form a conspicuous feature of the forest on Sunday Island—not by the number of species represented, which are few, but by the abundance of individuals. In the upper wet forest almost every stem of palms and trees is covered with mosses and lichens. Of the latter, those especially common are the foliaceous Sticta variabilis and Leptogium cyanescens, and the crustaceous Baeomyces pertenuis and Physcia speciosa. In exposed places, as on ridges and cliffs, where more light penetrates and the wind is more desiccating in its effect, the tree-stems support chiefly the foliaceous Sticta aurata and the drooping Usnea barbata. On rocks along the sea-coast Xanthoria parietinia and Physcia pulverulenta are frequent. All the upper branches and twigs of the pohutukawa, especially in the lower dry forest, where they are the dominant trees, are completely clothed with Scorias spongiosa, which showers its black spores copiously on the forest below. Lichens. Baeomyces pertenuis Stirb. Forest; on stems of nikau-palms and trees. Cladonia capitella Bab. Forest; among mosses on horizontal branches of trees. Cladonia Florkeana Fr. On logs in open. Cladonia aggregata Eschw. Forest; on damp ground. Leptogium cyanescens Kbr. Forest; on nikau-palm stems, in damp situations. Thallus soft and moist, like an alga, and in dry weather shrivels at the edges. Sticta variabilis Ach. Forest; abundant on tree-stems.

Sticta aurata Sm. Forest; abundant on tree-stems, in dry open situations. Ramalina fastigiata Ach. On rocks. Ramalina farinacea Fr. Scrub; on tree-stems, in dry open places Usnea barbata Fr. Forest; abundant on trees on cliffs and other exposed places. Xanthoria parietinia T. Fr. On rocks on sea-coast, from just above high-water mark. Physcia pulverulenta Fr. On rocks and trees, in open places. Physcia speciosa Nyl. Forest; abundant on palm-stems and trees with smooth bark. Fungi. Arcyria punicea Pers. Trichia fallax Pers. Forest-floor; on underside of dead leaves of nikau-palms (Rhopalostylis Baueri). Scorias spongiosa Fr. Forest; on pohutukawa-trees (Metrosideros villosa). This fungus completely covers the upper branches of the pohutukawa-trees with a sooty black moss-like growth to a depth of ⅛ in. to ¼ in. It continually sheds its black spores, so that the leaves of all trees and shrubs below are covered with a black dust. Locally it is called “pohutukawa soot,” which well expresses its appearance and habit of coating everything with a layer of black. Auricularia polytricha Mont. On dead trunks of Corynocarpus laevigata. Fomes zealandicus Cke. Fomes applanatus Fr. Polystichus hirsutus Fr. Polystichus tabacinus Cke. Daedalia subsulcata B. & Br. Favolus rhipidium Sacc. Schizophyllum commune Fr. Forest; on decaying logs. Clathrus cibarius Fisch. On ground, in forest.