Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2004. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2.

Life habit: saprobic (photobiont absent) Thallus: immersed, inapparent Ascomata: apothecial, stalked, black to brownish black stalk: consisting of dark brown to aeruginose or pale, periclinally arranged hyphae capitulum: obovoid to lens-shaped or strongly compressed true exciple: well developed, persistent, consisting of dark brown, periclinally arranged hyphae hymenium: covered by a thin layer of dark brown hyphae (the epithecium) asci: persisting until the maturity of the ascospores, then deliquescing cylindrical, 70-160 µm long, formed singly from ascogenous hyphae with croziers, with a single wall layer; apex: strongly and uniformly thickened, or penetrated by a short and blunt canal, with uniseriate spores ascospores: not aggregated into a dry mass, simple or 1-3-septate, ellipsoid with rounded apices or fusiform, 10-21 x 4-8 µm, dark brown; wall: rather thick, dark brown, smooth or warted, not rupturing at maturity Conidiomata: not observed Secondary metabolites: none detected by TLC; some species with pigments that change color in K or N Substrate: on twigs of vascular plants; species are usually confined to one genus of host plants Geography: mainly in cool temperate to temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere, with one species each occurring in Australasia and one in South America. Notes: The species are very host specific. Phaeocalicium: from the Sonoran region