TYPE. FINLAND. Ostrobottnia borealis, Ylitornio, Tengeliö, ad flumen Tornoënse, 1850, Nylander s.n. (H-NYL 4827, lectotype designated by Ertz & Diederich 2015).

Description. Life form: saprophytic, allied fungus.

Thallus crustose, endophloedal, barely visible; vegetative diaspores absent. Photobiont absent. Ascomata apothecoid, irregular, ends obtuse, 0.2-0.25 mm diam.; disk black, exposed at maturity; margin black, prominent. Exciple lateral; hypothecium pale; hymenium hyaline, I+ pale reddish; paraphyses unbranched with brownish tips; epithecium brown. Asci short, broadly clavate to ellipsoid, 8-spored, ascospores hyaline to brown, 2-celled, 17-19 x 7-8 µm, constricted at septum.

Substrate and Habitat. Corticolous.

Distribution. Europe, Eastern North America; in North Carolina reported from the Piedmont ecoregion.

Literature

Boudier, E. (1907) Historie et Classification des Discomycetes d’Europe. Librairie des Sciences Naturelles, Paris.

Ertz, D. & P. Diederich. (2015) Dismantling Melaspileaceae: a first phylogenetic study of Buelliella, Hemigrapha, Karschia, Labrocarpon and Melaspilea. Fungal Diversity 71: 141-164.

Nylander, W. (1861) Lichenes Scandinaviae sive prodromus lichenographiae Scandinaviae. Notiser ur Sällskapets pro Fauna et Flora Fennica. Förhandlingar 312 pp. (original description as Arthonia proximella).