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

Life habit: saprophytic? Thallus: endostubstratic, algae unassociated, although free-living algae often mixed in Apothecia: dark brown to black, 0.76-1.46 mm tall, epruinose, with well developed narrowly obconical excipula that are typically vertically pleated stalk: black, 0.05-0.1 mm thick, 1-1.5(-2) mm long, straight, occasionally forked to multi-branched, consisting of periclinally arranged hyphae capitulum: 0.2-0.6 mm wide, top-shaped; disc: plane; mazaedium: absent exciple: at first inrolled, rough, shining black, paraplectenchymatous within and dark brown in section asci: cylindrical, 8-spored ascospores: uniformly brown to brown black, or more typically mottled with light to dark brown hues, with lighter end cells and darker septa, elliptic to elliptic-elongate or elongate-fusiform with both ends sharp-tipped, straight to slightly curved, 18-36 x 7-11 µm; surface: conspicously papillate to reticulate, finally 3-septate Spot tests: all negative Secondary metabolites: none detected. Substrate and ecology: corticolous on old trunks of Abies, sometimes on Picea, in montane forests World distribution: Europe and North America (hemiboreal to middle oroboreal zone in Maine, Michigan, Ontario, British Columbia) Sonoran distribution: southern California. Notes: See notes under S. pullatula for comparison with that species.