Annls Sci. Nat., Bot., Sér. 3 18: 313 (1852).

Basionym: Lichen menziesii Sm., in Acharius, Methodus, Sectio post. (Stockholmiæ): 212 (1803).

Type locality: Argentina, Sierra Sorondo, the northern slope above Las Cotorras, 1940, R. Santesson 809 (S - neotype). Designated by Jørgensen (1975: 446).

Thallus: broadly lobate orbicular to spreading, to 8 cm diam., greenish-blue or browned, muscicolous or terricolous, rarely saxicolous. Lobes broadly orbicular, papery and rather crisp, margins entire, wavy, often lobulate or crisped. Upper surface smooth, not wrinkled, matt or shining, without isidia, pellucid pale malachite green to blue-green when wet, greyish to suffused brownish to dark red-brown when dry. Lower surface densely white-tomentose, hairs 100 µm long, cells cylindrical, insertion of apothecia leaving distinctive depressions. Apothecia occasional to common and often crowded, 0.5-2.5(-3) mm diam., sessile to pedicellate, pedicel pale whitish, distinctly hairy, laminal, disc plane to subconvex, pale orange-brown to red-brown or dark-brown, thalline exciple entire, thick, concolorous with thallus, wrinkled, hairy at base. Ascospores ellipsoid-fusiform, apices pointed or rounded, 22-27 x 8-10 µm, 3-septate to submuriform (Galloway & Jørgensen 1995: 241).

Photobiont: Data lacking.

Chemistry: No lichen substances.

Ecology: Amongst mosses on trees and shrubs, especially Fuchsia magellanica, Hebe, or at the base of shrubs amongst mosses in grassland, in rather open situations at forest margins, in open river flats or moorland and along roadside banks in areas of high rainfall, though it will tolerate somewhat drier conditions than most other species of the Mallotium group.

Distribution type: South America, New Zealand, south-eastern Australia.

Taxonomy: We have only seen typical material from southern South America, however, and feel that further studies on the variation of the taxon are necessary to determine whether the Australian material belongs in this species (.

Note: Often with the authors (Ach.) Mont., e.g. Galloway & Jørgensen (1995: 241), Argentinien-Checkliste.

Distribution Database: Distributions

Distribution Database: Discover Life

Picture Database: Tropical Lichens

Molecular Database: Genbank

Synonym Database: Index Fungorum

Synonym Database: Mycobank