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

Thallus: evanescent or thin, discontinuous, becoming rimose-areolate, areoles up to 0.3-1.4 mm wide, convex when small, otherwise plane or rugose surface: light to dark gray, sometimes ochraceous or brown, dull; margin: thallus determinate or indeterminate; prothallus: lacking; vegetative propagules: absent Apothecia: adnate, frequent, dispersed or contiguous, up to 0.25-0.8 mm in diam. disc: black and plane, frequently becoming convex or half-globose thalline margin: concolorous with thallus, 0.05-0.1 mm wide, entire or incompletely formed and beaded, frequently becoming excluded; excipular ring: often present, raised thalline exciple: 35-90 µm wide laterally; cortex: 10(-15) µm wide; cells: up to 4-6.5 µm wide, pigmented or not; algal cells: up to 7.5-15 µm in diam.; thalline exciple: 35-90 µm wide below; cortex: 10-30 µm, cellular to intricate proper exciple: hyaline or light brown, 10-15 µm wide laterally, expanding to 15-30(40) µm at periphery hymenium: 65-95 µm tall, paraphyses: 1.5-2.5 µm wide, not conglutinate, with apices up to 3.5-6 µm wide, darkly pigmented forming a dark brown epihymenium; hypothecium: hyaline or light brown, (20)50-65(-80) µm thick asci: clavate, 45-60 x 12-23 µm, 8-spored ascospores: brown, 1-septate, ellipsoid, type B development, Dirinaria-type, (13.5-)17.5-19(-23) x (6.5)8-9(-10.5) µm, lumina angular at first (Physcia-like), becoming inflated but apical walls remaining thick, usually dilated at septum, more so in K, sometimes submucronate; torus: absent; walls: minutely ornamented Pycnidia: not seen Spot tests: all negative Secondary metabolites: none detected. Substrate and ecology: on deciduous and coniferous trees, more rarely on wood or plant detritus on ground, at elevations of 100-2755 m World distribution: uncommon in boreal regions of Scandinavia, Siberia, more frequent in boreal North America (Canada, southwards at high elevations to Arizona) Sonoran distribution: Gila and Pima Counties, Arizona, at elevations of 2235-2755 m. Notes: Rinodina metaboliza occurs on bark and is characterized by a thallus lacking secondary metabolites and Dirinaria-type spores inflated at the septum, becoming more so in K. Rinodina metaboliza is a boreal species reaching its southern limit in the study area.