Thompson, J., 1997. American Arctic Lichens: The Microlichens.
Thallus thin to moderately thick, to 1.7 mm thick, shining, yellow-brown to dark brown, bullate-areolate; hypothallus lacking. Apothecia reaching 3 mm, usually smaller; margin usually prominent; exciple dark exteriorly, hyaline within; disk black when dry, glassy brown when wet, becoming convex with age; hypothecium hyaline; epithecium reddish brown to dark brown; hymenium 45-70 μm, 1+ blue; paraphyses mostly simple, to 2.3 μm, tips thickened to 3.5 μm; asci clavate with weakly 1+ tholus; spores 8, ellipsoid to oblong-ellipsoid or drop-shaped, 10-19 x 4-7 μm. Conidia filiform, bent.
Contents: stictic and constictic acids (Huneck & Schreiber 1974).
This species is found on exposed rocks in the arctic and alpine. It is circumpolar, in North America ranging south in the Rocky Mountains to Colorado.
Lecidea aenea var. canadensis Lynge (Rep. 5th Thule Exped. p. 11. 1935) differs in that the upper part of the hymenium is blue-black rather than olive to brown. It is known from Baffin Island. It may be very close to Lecidea picea Lynge, which also has a blue-green epihymenium but has an exciple which is violet-toned and turning to blue with KOH. It cannot with certainty be assigned to L. garovaglii.