Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2004. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2.
Thallus: crustose, epiphloedal or usually at least partly immersed, cortex not differentiated, non-layered, effuse, non-gelatinous photobiont: primary one a Trentepohlia green alga, secondary one absent Ascomata: apothecial, gyalectiform, urceolate, initially immersed, globose or de-pressed-globose, with the exciple overtopping and hiding the hymenium except for a minute pore and perithecioid, later +erumpent to adnate, and the exciple splitting radially and exposing the sunken, concave, pinkish or gray-white, epruinose discs thalline margin: thin or thick, wrinkled, not much raised, lacerate, disappearing or closed over disc, or forming a narrow punctiform opening dehiscing from disc and becoming orbicular-dilated; margins of aperture: fringed or crenulate or fissured, in radiating, recurved layers true exciple: thin, well developed laterally, composed of felted hyphae with small, thin walled, angular cells, becoming rectangular along inner surface, ending in periphyses with +pointed apices, +hyaline or red-brown to dark brown in outer part hymenium: hyaline, I+ bluish at least in uppermost part; periphyses: present; paraphyses: slender, numerous, septate (septa visible only in I), unbranched, straight, conglutinate, usually gradually +swollen above; subhymenium: thin asci: clavate to +cylindrical; apex: rounded or with a short, blunt apiculus, with a single thin (under 1 µm) wall layer, I-, some species with a minute I+ blue ring structure in the apex; (1-)8-20(-180)spored ascospores: hyaline, simple or 1-(to many) septate or muriform, variously shaped (ellipsoid or ovoid or fusiform-elongate), smooth walled, sometimes with a distinct gelatinous perispore Conidiomata: unknown Secondary metabolites: none detected Substrate: on bark, wood, or moss, characteristically in deeply shaded, humid habitats Geography: mostly tropical to subptopical, with outposts in humid parts of the temperate region. Notes: Ramonia differs from Gyalecta and Pachyphiale in having angular exciple cells and in having periphyses.