Lichens from the Southern Alps, New Zealand: Records from Phipps Peak, The Two Thumbs, and the Tasman Valley

Abstract

The taxonomy, ecology, and regional distribution of lichens in New Zealand are imperfectly known (Galloway, 1966, 1968a, 1968b; Martin, 1966, 1968). In surveying the scattered literature, Galloway (1966) found that very little work had been done on alpine lichens. In his account he lists 150 species collected between about 2,600 and 6,060 feet from three sites in the Humboldt mountains, Fiordland. Earlier, J. Scott Thomson is known to have collected lichens from peaks in Otago and elsewhere in the South Island (see Zahlbruckner, 1941). Philipson and Brownlie (1958) have also recorded several species from mountains in the environs of Cass, Canterbury. Undoubtedly other collections have been made from alpine regions by local and visiting collectors, but few records have been published.