Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2004. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2.
Life habit: saprophytic, parasitic, algicolous or lichenicolous, rarely lichenized Basidiomata: thin, pellicular, white, easily separable from substrate, because of very loose subiculum; hymenial surface: smooth or slightly wrinkled hyphae: hyaline, cylindrical, thin- to thick-walled, often encrusted, with or without clamps basidia: aseptate, ellipsoid to broadly claviform, relatively short, with 2-4 sterigmata basidiospores: hyaline, smooth, aseptate, thin-walled, non-amyloid, rounded, ellipsoid or cylindrical Anamorph: Fibularhizoctonia, unknown in most species sclerotia: present in some species, white to light brown, ellipsoid Geography: cosmopolitan Substrate: on bark, wood (hard or decayed), organic debris, leaves, corticolous lichens and algae. Notes: The taxonomy of Athelia species is still controversial, mainly due to the low number of useful characters, their variability and the different assesments of their taxonomic value.