LABYRINTHA IMPLEXA (PORPIDIACEAE), A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES FROM NEW-ZEALAND

Labyrintha Malcolm, Elix & Owe-Larsson, a new genus in the Porpidiacea e, is described. It is based on the crustose taxon L. implexa Malcolm, Elix and Owe-Larsson, a saxicolous species from acidic rocks in alpin e and subalpine areas in New Zealand. Labyrintha is distinguished from closely related genera by combination of characters: cephalodia, imme rsed apothecia, large, simple ascospores (60-70 x 30-35 mu m), halonat e when young and dark-pigmented when mature, fusiform conidia, no cort ex, no thallus chemistry, densely packed anticlinal hyphae, and a prev iously undescribed thallus anatomy in which the photobiont is arranged in anastomosing vertical sheets. (C) 1995 The British Lichen Society