Fryday, AM 2000: Bryonora Rhypariza (Nyl.) Poelt - New to North America. - Evansia 17(1): 37-39.
Thallus well developed, composed of grey to pinkish-brown, +/- grey pruinose, granular to sub-squamulose areoles to 1.0 mm diam., coalescing to form small thalli to 1 cm across; cortical cells olivaceous-brown in section. Growing over a cyanobacterium (Stigonema) mat. Photobiont chlorococcoid, cells (9)12-15(-18) µm diam. Apothecia arising from the centre of the areoles, abundant often +/- obscuring the thallus; flat, larger apothecia becoming flexuose; disc mid- to dark brown, lecanorine, with thick, persistent thalline margin 0.06-0.1 mm wide, concolorous with the thallus. Hymenium hyaline, I+ blue, 85-100 µm tall; epihymenium brown, 8-12 µm wide. Paraphyses 1.5-2.0 µm thick swelling at apex to 5.0 µm, with brown pigmented cap; simple, strongly conglutinated. Asci clavate-cylindrical, c. 60-85 X 15-20 µm, walls I+ blue, with a distinctly I+ blue tholus, ?Lecanora-type. Ascospores hyaline, 8/ascus, simple to 1-septate, elongate-ellipsoid (19.0)24.0-26.0 X 5.0-7.0 µm. Hypothecium hyaline, composed of randomly arranged hyphae, merging into the horizontally arranged hyphae of the excipulum which extends below the hypothecium, base root-like. Proper excipulum poorly developed laterally. Conidiomata not seen.
Chemsitry: Thallus C-, K+ red, Pd+ yellow, norstictic and connonstictic (sic) acids by TLC.
Bryonora rhypariza is elsewhere known from the Nepal and Central and Northern Europe, including Iceland (Poelt 1983). The N. American specimen agrees well with var. rhypariza. Two other varieties have been recorded only from Nepal; var. lamaina Poelt, which has larger ascospores, and var. cyanotropha Poelt & H. Mayrh., which forms an intimate relationship with a cyanobacterium (Stigonema). Species Associated with the N. American specimen include Psora rubiformis (Ach.) Hooker, Candelariella terrigena Räsänen and Collema sp.