TYPE. UNITED STATES. Maryland, Benfield, on Magnolia glauca, 1907, C.C. Plitt s.n. (UPS, lectotype).
Description.Life form: lichenized fungus.
Thallus crustose, epiphloedal, pale gray to whitish, continuous, smooth, rimose or verruculose. Vegetative diaspores soredia in patches, rare. Cortex thin, < 15 µm; medulla white. Ascomata lecanorine apothecia immersed to sessile, 0.5-1.0 mm diam.; disk orange-brown to red-brown, epruinose; thalline margin prominent, verruculose, appearing beaded. Amphithecium: cortex < 15 µm thick, with large crystals, sometimes sparse. Epihymenium red-brown, granular, embedded with crystals; hymenium hyaline, not inspersed; hypothecium hyaline. Asci 8-spored; ascospores ellipsoid, simple, 10-14 × 6-8 µm.
Chemistry. Thallus K+ yellow, KC-, PD+ weak yellow; epihymenium and often apothecial margin PD+ orange (pannarin); roccellic acid and placodiolic acid usually present.
Substrate and Habitat. Corticolous on hardwood trees, rarely on conifers.
Distribution. Europe and North America (eastern and Pacific Northwest); in North Carolina found throughout.
Literature
Brodo, I.M., S. Duran Sharnoff & S. Sharnoff. (2001) Lichens of North America. Yale University Press, New Haven & London. 795 pp.
Lendemer, J.C. & N. Noell. (2018) Delmarva Lichens: An illustrated manual. Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Society28: 1-386.
Malíček, J. (2014) A revision of the epiphytic species of the Lecanora subfusca group (Lecanoraceae, Ascomycota) in the Czech Republic. The Lichenologist46(4): 489-513.