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

Life habit: lichenized, lichenicolous or not Thallus: crustose, ±effuse, rimose-cracked, areolate, or granular to warted, rarely squamulose, sometimes, forming irregular patches, sometimes with a slightly effigurate rim; prothallus: mostly lacking, rarely blackish gray surface: rather smooth to knobby, dull to shiny, sorediate in some species with discrete soralia or forming a confluent and extensive sorediate crust cortex: thin, slightly differentiated, containing anticlinal paraplectenchymatous cells with rather thin walls, often with brown capped terminal cells, sometimes overlain by an epinecral layer medulla: indiscernible, with unoriented hyphae, growing +deep into the substrate, I-, sometimes containing clusters of large crystals photobiont: primary one a chlorococcoid green alga, secondary one absent; algal layer: with grouped or scattered algae Ascomata: apothecial, slightly immersed, adnate, sessile to slightly stipitate disc: watery gray, pale to dark brown to black margin: mostly well developed, swollen to receding, concolorous with the thallus, or paler amphithecium: with a broad algal zone; cortex: containing anticlinal short cells, lateral outer edge with dark brown pigmented capitate cells parathecium: often developed, visible as a dark rim, with conglutinated paraplectenchymatous cells, only brownish pigmented towards the outer rim epihymenium: yellowish brown, dark brown or red-brown to orange, K-, N- or N+ reddish brown hymenium: hyaline; paraphyses: simple, often branched at upper part or sparingly branched, septate, with capitate, brown apices 1.5-3 µm in diam., conglutinated with the asci by an I+ blue gelatinous matrix; hypothecium: hyaline asci: cylindrical or narrowly to broadly clavate, 35-50 x 10-15 µm, with a thin amyloid outer gelatinous coat, Catillaria-type, 8-spored ascospores: hyaline, 1-septate, ellipsoid, clavate or ovoid- to oblong-ellipsoid, 10-20 x (3-)5-9(-10) µm, with a perispore up to c. 2 µm wide, rarely constricted at septum, often remaining conglutinated outside the ascus Conidiomata: pycnidial, usually present, inconspicuous, immersed in the thallus conidia: simple, short bacilliform Secondary metabolites: ß-orcinol depsidone (argopsin), ß-orcinol depsides (unknown) and triterpenes (zeorin and an unknown) Geography: widely distributed in Europe from boreal to mediterranean areas, Australia, and North America Substrate: on calcareous or acidic rocks, also in eutrophic conditions, on bark, wood, other lichens or mosses from the mesic, supralittoral zone to montane areas.