Unitec lichen discovery named after our Prime Minister

Peter de Lange and Dan Blanchon on a research field trip

Associate Professor Peter de Lange, School of Environmental and Animal Sciences, was one of the Unitec team of three involved in the discovery last year of a new species of lichen. Found in Auckland the the new species has been named after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, with her permission. The name Ocellularia jacinda-arderniae or Jacinda’s barnacle lichen honours Ardern and recognises that the new species was found during the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage.

Peter de Lange hopes the name choice raises the profile of all lichen, which he says are often neglected: “People don’t tend to value them unless they see some economic value but in fact they are incredibly important for the environment.”

You can ready more about the role of lichen as an air filterer, nitrogen-fixer of the forest, and the discovery, in this newsroom story – Jacinda’s lichen-ness – A brand new lichen gets a special name with a sprinkling of star dust.

Also our Nest story We like Lichens (4 February 2019) explains what makes lichens so special, the lack of lichen experts in New Zealand, the unique training we provide here in lichenology and our dedicated lichen herbarium (the only one in New Zealand), curated by our Head of Environmental and Animal Sciences, Dr Dan Blanchon.