[Lecidea aglaea Sommerf., moreLecidea aglaea f. aglaea Sommerf., Lecidea aglaea f. crombiei (T. Jones ex Nyl.) Nyl., Lecidea aglaea var. aglaea Sommerf., Lecidea aglaea var. aglaeida (Nyl.) Vain., Lecidea aglaea var. cinerascens H. Magn., Lecidea aglaea var. crombiei (T. Jones ex Nyl.) T. Jones ex Cromb., Lecidea aglaea var. laatokkaënsis Räsänen, Lecidea aglaea var. norrlinii Vain., Lecidea aglaeida Nyl., Lecidea crombiei Jones{?}, Lecidea shushanii J.W. Thomson, Lecidella aglaea (Sommerf.) Körb., Oedemocarpus aglaeus (Sommerf.) Trevis., Tephromela aglaea (Sommerf.) Hertel & Rambold, Tephromela aglaeida (Nyl.)]
Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2004. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2.
Thallus: rather thick, warted-areolate, up to c. 10 cm in diam. but usually smaller; prothallus: absent or present and black areoles: mostly contiguous (rarely scattered), up to 2 mm in diam., surface: light greenish yellow, gray or yellowish white (darkening to brown in the herbarium), convex or flat, occasionally wrinkled Apothecia: black, 0.5-2(-3) mm in diam., disc: black, flat initially, becoming irregularly convex margin: biatorine, concolorous with the disc epihymenium: bluish green-black, sometimes in part brown hymenium: hyaline, 60-80 µm tall; hypothecium: hyaline above and pale yellow-brown below asci: clavate, 8-spored ascospores: hyaline, simple, ellipsoid, (7.5-)12-16 x 4.5-8.5 µm Pycnidia: immersed conidia: hyaline, 5.5-9 x 1-2 µm Spot tests: upper cortex: K+ yellow, C-, KC+ yellow, P-; medulla K+ orange, C-, KC-, P+ orange Secondary metabolites: upper cortex with atranorin and/or usnic acid, medulla with bourgeanic acid and stictic acid. Substrate and ecology: non-calciferous rock in open habitats, such as alpine areas and scree slopes in upper montane areas World distribution: temperate to arctic regions of Asia, Europe, and North America Sonoran distribution: limited to the alpine areas of the highest peaks of Arizona at over 3400 m. Note: Apparently the Sonoran population is limited to the yellow form of this species. Elsewhere the thallus is frequently white or whitish gray.