| Caloplaca maculata | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Teloschistales |
| Family: | Teloschistaceae |
| Genus: | Caloplaca |
| Species: | C. maculata |
| Binomial name | |
| Caloplaca maculata | |
Caloplaca maculata is a species of lichenized fungus endemic to New Zealand.
Caloplaca maculata was first described by lichenologist David Galloway in 2004; the type specimen was collected from a rocky shoreline on Chatham Island, the largest island in an archipelago off New Zealand's South Island. [1] The genus name Caloplaca means "beautiful patches", [2] while the species name maculata is derived from the Latin maculātus, meaning "to cover with stains" or "to mark with coloured patches". [3]
Caloplaca maculata is a crustose lichen which grows in irregular rosettes measuring 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) in diameter. [4] The thallus (the vegetative body of the lichen) is pale greenish-white when wet and greyish-white when dry, without a noticeable prothallus . Its surface is areolate, broken into angular polygons separated by deep cracks. The disc-like apothecia (the lichen's fruiting bodies) are large and conspicuous: orange when dry and clear yellow when wet. These are sessile – attached directly at their base to the thallus without a stalk. [1]
In spot tests, the thallus is K− and the apothecia are K+, turning a reddish purple. Secondary metabolites include parietin. [4]
Although Caloplaca maculata was initially thought to be endemic to Chatham Island, it has since been found on other islands in the same archipelago, and on New Zealand's South Island. [5] It is saxicolous, growing on tuffaceous rock outcrops and basalt, typically in more sheltered locations along the coast. [6] It has been found growing amongst other lichen species, including Caloplaca litoralis , Dufourea ligulata , Myriolecis dispersa , Pertusaria graphica , Physcia caesia and members of the genera Amandinea , Buellia and Caloplaca . [7]