Lichenes^\ 



FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND. 



309 



2. Collema flaccidtwi, Ach. et Auctt. 



Var. ft. lave, Bab. ; lobis amplis submonophyllis appressis, thallo lsevi subrigido concavo atro-viridi, 

 apotheciis valde confertis rufo-fuscis evidenter marginatis. — C. Iseve, Tayl.! Lick. Antarct. m. 142. 



Var. y. carulescens, Bab. ; thallo amplo valde rigido graimlis nullis, lobis ascendentibus colore viridi 

 subazureo demum dilutius fiavescente, apotheciis numerosissimis evidenter marginatis, disco rufo. 



Hab. Northern Island, Colenso. Var. /3. Bay of Islands, on trees, J. D. II. Var. 7. On trees, 

 Colenso. 



Mr. Colenso's specimens of the type, which are barren, and grow both on rocks and on wood, agree well with 

 the European forms ; the thallus is thin, dull green, much lobed, and crisped ; lobes ascending, more or less co- 

 vered in many parts with furfuraceous granulations; those on wood may be considered identical with Scheer.! Exs. 

 n. 413 (P. rupestris, fifurva, b granulosa). If this is correctly referred to G.furvum of Acharius, it hardly seems to 

 be anything more than a variety of C.flaccidum. Pries, however, distinguishes them in his Summa Veg. Scand. p. 

 122. Esehweiler (Fl. Brasil. p. 234) speciously enough combines this with the preceding, and it is indeed often 

 difficult to distinguish indifferent specimens ; the structure, however, of the under side of 0. nigrescens, as well as a 

 certain habit, seem to indicate a specific difference; but I must own myself to be doubtful on the point. The 

 present species is found all over Europe, from Lapland (Fries) southwards, thence as far as Madeira (Salwey !), in 

 Arctic America (Drummond !), in the United States of North America (Tuckermann), in Brazil (Esehweiler), and 

 probably in many other regions of the south. 



The var. lave, Bab., has the lobes of the ample submonophyllous appressed thallus quite smooth, rather rigid, 

 concave, dull green ; apothecia minute, very crowded, rufo-fuscous, distinctly margined. 



This variety is compared with 0. nigrescens by Taylor, who remarks that the lobes are thinner, smoother, with- 

 out longitudinal wrinkles, and that the apothecia in all stages are concave, with a thicker thallodal cup. This ab- 

 sence of wrinkles indicates the affinity to be with C.flaccidum, and it appears to be merely a handsome ample form, 

 void of granulations ; the apothecia, however, are very densely crowded, as in C. nigrescens. 



The var. carulescens differs from the preceding in its greater rigidity and brighter colours. Neither of these 

 forms at all deserve the name of C.flaccidum, but the synonym C. rupestre is still less applicable. It is not impos- 

 sible that this and the preceding variety may be distinct both from C.flaccidum and C. nigrescens; but there are no 

 very satisfactory characters, and both species are known to be extremely variable. 



3. Collcma saturnmum, Ach. et Auctt. 

 Hab. Northern Island, on bark, Colenso. 



A variable species, in general easily recognized by the tomentose under side ; but this character is almost obso- 

 lete in the Antarctic specimens from Cape Horn, which we conceive, notwithstanding, to belong to this species. C. 

 saturninum is found at the Cape of Good Hope, and throughout the whole of Europe, likewise in the United States 

 and in Arctic America, and in the Himalaya Mountains. I am not aware whether it occurs within the tropics. 



4. Gollema fascicular^, var. Colensoi, Bab. ; thallo suborbiculari centro affixo rigido tenui cartilagineo, 

 sicco lsete azureo demum discolore, madido turgescente virescente, lobis liberis utrinque concoloribus sub- 

 rugosis rotundatis sinuatis crispatis, apotheciis stipatissimis totos margines obtegentibus minutis subimmar- 

 ginatis runs. 



Hab. Northern Island, on twigs, Colenso. 



Perhaps a distinct species. In the disposition of the apothecia it much resembles Leptogium marginellum, 

 Mont. 1 {Collema, Ach. et Auctt.) ; but the present plant, although the apothecia have no very distinct thallodal mar- 

 gin, is evidently a Collema, the thallus being much too thick for a Leptogium, and decidedly swelling when mois- 

 tened. It grows in small tufts about an inch in diameter, more or less, bright blue at first, but in age assuming a 

 disagreeable greenish-brown tint, with the lobes freely ascending from the centre, thus giving the species more of the 

 habit of a Ggroplwra than is usual in this genus. These lobes are very numerous, extremely crisped and sinuated, 



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