VERRUCARIA

Updated from McCarthy (2001h), but not including species found only on the oceanic islands

1

Thallus growing on soil

2

1:

Thallus growing on rock

3

2

Thallus grey-green; perithecia 0.11–0.25 mm diam., lacking an involucrellum; spores 11–20 × 4.5–7.5 µm

V. solicola

2:

Thallus olive-green to greenish black; perithecia 0.2–0.4 (–0.5) mm diam., with a well-developed involucrellum; spores 18–30 × 8–15 µm

V. nigrescens

3

Thallus growing on aquatic or seashore rocks

4

3:

Thallus not growing on aquatic or seashore rocks

29

4

Thallus growing on aquatic rocks

5

4:

Thallus growing on seashore rocks

20

5

Perithecia mostly 0.1–0.2 (–0.25) mm diam.; spores 6–15 µm long

6

5:

Most or all perithecia more than 0.2 mm diam.; most or all spores more than 15 µm long

10

6:

Perithecia superficial, with rounded, uniformly black apices

7

6

Perithecia almost completely immersed in the thallus

9

7

Involucrellum 30–80 µm thick; asci 42–60 µm long; spores 6–9.5 µm wide

V. cootapatambensis

7:

Involucrellum 25–35 µm thick; asci 28–40 µm long; spores to 7.5 µm wide

8

8

Spores 6–10.5 × 4.5–6.5 µm

V. mundula var. deminuta

8:

Spores 8.5–14.5 × 3.5–7.5 µm

V. mundula var. mundula

9

Thallus pale greyish green to grass-green, not puncticulate

V. tasmanica

9:

Thallus dark green to black, often richly black-puncticulate

V. rheitrophila

10

Thallus greyish white to pale grey-green, 60–200 µm thick

V. praetermissa

10:

Thallus medium to dark grey-green, reddish brown or black; if paler, then thallus 20–60 µm thick

11

11

Spores mostly 12–20 (–25) µm long

12

11:

Spores 18–35 (–47) µm long

16

12

Thallus black-puncticulate; perithecia 0.3–0.8 mm diam.; centrum 0.18–0.3 mm wide

V. puncticulata

12:

Thallus not puncticulate; perithecia 0.16–0.5 (–0.55) mm diam.; centrum 0.1–0.2 (–0.25) mm wide

13

13

Spores 9–15 µm wide

V. subtholocarpa

13:

Spores 5–10 (–12) µm wide

14

14

Involucrellum 60–120 µm thick; thallus (80–) 100–180 (–400) µm thick

V. inconstans

14:

Involucrellum 30–50 µm thick; thallus 20–120 µm thick

15

15

Involucrellum 0.2–0.5 mm diam., diverging from the exciple; thallus 20–40 (–60) µm thick; algae 4–9 × 4–7 µm

V. hydrela

15:

Involucrellum 0.16–0.27 mm diam., µcontiguous with the exciple; thallus (40–) 60–80 (–120) µm thick; algae 7–20 × 7–16 µm

V. phaeoderma

16

Perithecia completely immersed in the thick, smooth, blackish thallus; spores 21–30 µm long

V. funckii

16:

Perithecia semi-immersed to almost superficial, sometimes partly overgrown by the thallus, but still prominent

17

17

Spores (7–) 10–13 µm wide

18

17:

Spores spores (9.5–) 14 (–20) µm wide

19

18

Thallus with brown-black upper and basal layers, whitish within

V. austroalpina

18:

Thallus uniformly dark reddish brown

V. aethiobola

19

Involucrellum c. 30–40 µm thick; spores 18–34 (–40) µm long; periphyses 18–35 µm long; thallus 20–40 (–60) µm thick, medium to dark grey-green to greenish black

V. margacea

19:

Involucrellum 60–100 µm thick; spores 26–47 µm long; periphyses 30–60 µm long; thallus 40–80 (–100) µm thick, pale to medium greenish brown

V. tholocarpa

20

Thallus endolithic to epilithic and inconspicuous, pale grey-green or pale pinkish grey

21

20:

Thallus epilithic and conspicuous, grey-brown to greenish brown, medium green, olive-green, green-black or µblack

22

21

Perithecia µfully immersed to semi-immersed, 0.1–0.2 mm diam.; involucrellum absent

V. australiensis

21:

Perithecia semi-immersed to µsuperficial, 0.4–0.72 mm diam.; involucrellum thick and well-developed

V. prominula

22

Thallus medium green to greenish black, with black 50–100 (–150) µm wide elongate simple to branched carbonaceous ridges; spores 7–11 × 4–7 µm

V. striatula

22:

Thallus without black ridges

23

23

Thallus continuous to µsparingly rimose; lower to mid-littoral species

24

23:

Thallus richly rimose to areolate; upper littoral to supralittoral species

26

24

Spores 10–16 (–18) µm long

V. microsporoides

24:

Spores 7–12.5 µm long

25

25

Perithecia 0.18–0.3 mm diam.; spores 4.5–6.5 µm wide

V. halizoa

25:

Perithecia 0.24–0.45 mm diam.; spores 5.5–10.5 µm wide

V. meridionalis

26

Spores 8–15 × 4–7 µm

27

26:

Spores 12–26 × 6–12 µm

28

27

Perithecia 0.12–0.22 mm diam.; thallus dark olive-green to green-black

V. subdiscreta

27:

Perithecia 0.22–0.45 mm diam.; thallus grey-brown to medium greenish brown

V. aucklandica

28

Thallus medium greenish grey to dark grey-brown; perithecia semi-immersed to almost superficial

V. fusconigrescens

28:

Thallus dark grey-green to greenish black; perithecia µfully immersed to semi-immersed; if appearing superficial, then partly or almost completely overgrown by a thick layer of thallus

V. maura

29

Thallus parasitic on Buellia pruinosa, grey, areolate; perithecia immersed to semi-immersed, 0.14–0.25 mm diam.; spores 13–20 × 7–12 µm

V. buelliicola

29:

Thallus not parasitic on other lichens

30

30

Thallus endolithic to very thinly subepilithic, very inconspicuous, usually continuous, occasionally faintly rimose, whitish, pale grey or with faint greenish or brownish tones

31

30:

Thallus epilithic and thin to thick, usually conspicuous and rimose to areolate, grey, greenish, brown or black

38

31

Involucrellum absent, or vestigial and visible as a slight thickening around the perithecial apex

32

31:

Involucrellum well-developed, spreading µhorizontally from the perithecial apex, or dimidiate, or extending down to the base of the exciple, or enclosing the exciple

34

32

Perithecia 0.1–0.2 mm diam.; spores 7.5–14 × 4–7 µm

V. australiensis

32:

Perithecia 0.2–0.8 mm diam.

33

33

Perithecia 0.2–0.3 (–0.4) mm diam.; spores 13–24 × 7–13 µm

V. calciseda

33:

Perithecia 0.3–0.6 (–0.8) mm diam.; spores 20–48 × 10–25 µm

V. hochstetteri

34

Involucrellum lid-like, spreading µhorizontally, scarcely extending downwards

35

34:

Involucrellum dimidiate, or extending down to the base of the exciple, or enclosing the exciple

36

35

Spores 15–21 × 6–10 µm

V. baldensis

35:

Spores 20–32 × 9–15 µm

V. operculata

36

Perithecia 0.2–0.31 mm diam.; spores 9.5–16 × 5–7.5 µm

V. tuberculiformis

36:

Perithecia 0.25–0.5 (–0.6) mm diam.; spores 12–28 × 5–15 µm

37

37

Spores 12–23 × 5–10 µm; perithecial apex plane to deeply concave

V. dufourii

37:

Spores 14–28 × 8–15 µm; perithecial apex usually rounded

V. muralis

38

Spores 8–15 (–20) µm long

39

38:

Spores 18–37 µm long

41

39

Thallus olive-green to µblack, not greyish

V. compacta

39:

Thallus pale grey-green to dark grey-brown

40

40

Perithecia immersed, µcentral on areolae; apex usually plane

V. glaucina

40:

Perithecia two-thirds immersed or almost superficial, marginal or between areolae; apex weakly to strongly convex

V. lecideoides var. minuta

41

Thallus olive-green to greenish black; perithecia 0.2–0.4 (–0.5) mm diam.; spores 18–30 × 8–15 µm

V. nigrescens

41:

Thallus greyish green; perithecia 0.4–0.65 mm diam.; spores 23–37 × 14–21 µm

V. viridula