Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2004. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2.
Thallus: crustose, areolate, conspicuous; prothallus: indistinguishable to conspicuous, black, black-green areoles: adjacent or marginally dispersed; marginal areoles often effigurated; plane to strongly convex (bullate; sometimes even stipitate) or slightly to pronounced squamiform, 0.91.5(-3) mm diam. and 0.4-0.8 mm in height upper surface: pale to medium brown to (more rarely) dark brown in the center and often with a small, white, pale gray or black sometimes curled down rim, shiny, smooth or with a rough, 'areolated' structure, esorediate cortex: consisting of 3 layers: (a) a 5-30 µm thick, indistinctly to distinctly lammelated, unpigmented, translucent epinecrotic layer, medulla: white, I+ intensely violet; algal layer: 60-90 µm thick lower surface: dark (only to be seen in some squamulous specimens) Apothecia: black, with a slightly to moderately constricted base, (0.5)0.7-1.4(-2.3) mm in diam. disc: flat to convex, epuinose or indistinctly pruinose margin: black, usually persistent, dull to shiny exciple: unpigmented inside, with a greenish black, epihymenium-like rim epihymenium: bright green (cinereorufa-green), 8-15 µm thick hymenium: hyaline, 40-60 µm tall, I+ blue; paraphyses: simple, occasionally scarcely branched and anastomosing subhymenium: hyaline, 15-40 µm thick hypothecium: hyaline to medium brown (rarely dark brown) asci: clavate, 40-65 x 13-16 µm, 8-spored ascospores: hyaline, simple, ellipsoid-oblong, mean values: 8-10.5 x 3.4-4.6 µm Pycnidia: immersed, graphidoid conidia: bacilliform to filiform, +straight, mean values: (10.5-)12-19(-24) x c. 1 µm [studied in 18 specimens] Spot tests: cortex and medulla K- (rarely K+ yellow or K+ red) C-, KC-, P- (or rarely P+ yellow) Secondary metabolites: perlatolic acid, sometimes beside traces of 2'-O-methylperlatolic, confluentic or norstictic acid. Substrate and ecology: in open habitats on acidic rocks in the montane to subalpine belt (1830-3350 m) World distribution: known only from California [Butte, El Dorado, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Tulare and Tuolumne Counties], Utah and Nevada Sonoran distribution: rare in the montane to subalpine belt of southern California. Note: Lecidea perlatolica is a member of the Lecidea atrobrunnea group and is characterized by its production of perlatolic acid (after which it is named).