TYPE. "Americana" (Nylander 1872).

Description. Life form: lichenized fungus.

Thallus crustose, epiphloedal, pale grayish to sulfur yellow, continuous to areolate; prothallus often present, thin, black. Vegetative diaspores absent. Cortex present; medulla white. Photobiont chlorococcoid alga. Ascomata lecanorine apothecia, sessile, 0.5-1.0 mm diam.; disk brownish yellow with bright yellow pruina; thalline margin (amphithecium) prominent, verruculose. Amphithecium with cortex, medulla and photobiont; epihymenium yellow-brown, embedded with crystals; hymenium hyaline, not inspersed; hypothecium hyaline. Asci 8-spored; ascospores oblong, simple, 10-15 × 3-5 µm.

Chemistry. Thallus UV-, K-, KC+ gold, C-, PD-; usnic acid and zeorin.

Substrate and Habitat. Corticolous, especially on bald cypress, and lignicolous.

Distribution. Neotropics (Central and Mesoamerica) to eastern North America; in North Carolina found in the Coastal Plain ecoregion.

Literature

Lendemer, J.C. & N. Noell. (2018) Delmarva Lichens: An illustrated manual. Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Society 28: 1-386.

Brodo, I.M., S. Duran Sharnoff & S. Sharnoff. (2001) Lichens of North America. Yale University Press, New Haven & London. 795 pp.

Nylander, W. (1872) Animadversiones quaedam circa F. Arnold: Lichenologische Fragmente XIV. Flora (Regensburg) 55: 247-252.