Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2004. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2.
Thallus: crustose, rimose-areolate or verrucose-areolate; prothallus: white areoles: flat or verrucose or verruculose, thin, opaque, ecorticate surface: yellowish white to yellowish gray, smooth, epruinose, with an indistinct margin, esorediate Apothecia: sessile, 0.4-2 mm in diam., lecanorine disc: red-brown or brown or dark brown to blackish brown, plane, epruinose margin: concolorous with thallus, thin or thick, persistent, even or prominent, not flexuose, smooth, verrucose or verruculose, without a parathecial ring amphithecium: present, with numerous algal cells, hyaline, with large and small crystals, the small ones soluble in K, corticate; cortex: distinct, basally thickened, interspersed, 20-40 µm thick laterally, 40-70 µm thick basally parathecium: hyaline, containing crystals soluble in K epihymenium: red-brown to orange-brown, with pigment not dissolving in K, without crystals hymenium: hyaline, clear, inspersed with small oil droplets; paraphyses: slightly thickened (up to 3 µm wide) apically, red-brown to orange-brown; hypothecium: hyaline, without oil droplets asci: clavate, 8-spored ascospores: hyaline, simple, ellipsoid or broadly ellipsoid, (10)12-14.5(-15) x (5-)6.2-7.5(-8) µm; wall: less than 1 µm thick Pycnidia: not seen Spot tests: K+ yellow, C-, KC-, P- or P+ pale yellow Secondary metabolites: atranorin (major), chloroatranorin (minor), usnic acid (major), and zeorin (major or absent). Substrate and ecology: on bark of deciduous trees in thorn forest World distribution: endemic to the New World from southwestern North America to southern Brazil and northern Argentina Sonoran distribution: Baja California Sur and Sinaloa. Notes: Lecanora neonashii is easily recognized by the dark apothecial disc, the clear epihymenium and the presence of usnic acid in addition to the atranorin chemosyndrome. Some morphotypes of L. tropica may be similar, but differ in containing the chodatin chemosyndrome instead of usnic acid.