Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2007. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 3.
Thallus: composed of irregular granules that coalesce to form a continuous to more or less areolate crust, esorediate areoles: irregular in shape, intermingled with the substrate, 0.3-1.0 mm in diam. surface: dark olive brown to almost black, matte, epruinose upper cortex: algal layer and medulla not differentiated, algae covered by a layer of brown-walled fungal hyphae photobiont: 5-13 µm in diam. Apothecia: rounded to slightly deformed or angular when in groups, sessile with a constricted base, 0.2-0.4 (-0.55) mm diam; disc: black, dull, epruinose, flat to weakly convex; margin: not or only slightly prominent when young, persistent but ± level with disc or excluded in old apothecia, dull; exciple: laterally 20-35 µm, basally c. 50 µm wide, dark brown to almost black, pseudoparenchymatous, cupular, hyphae with lumina 3.5-12 µm wide; epihymenium: 10-25 µm high, (yellowish) brown; hymenium: 50-75 µm high, yellowish to reddish brown above, deep brown red below; paraphyses: moderately, rarely strongly branched, but with few anastomoses, basally colorless, apical cells dark brown, lumina 0.5-1.0 µm, apically 1-4 µm wide; subhymenium: 40-60 µm high, deep brown red; hypothecium: 100-125 µm high, dark (violaceous) brown asci: of Trapelia-type, 8-spored ascospores: colorless, simple, (9.0-) 10.1-10.4 (-11.5) x (4.0-) 4.7-5.0 (-5.5) µm Pycnidia: not seen. Spot tests: thallus K-, P-, C-, KC-, UV- Secondary metabolites: 1 terpenoid + an additional unidentified substance. Substrate and ecology: on coarse soil, sandstone, spike moss (Selaginella bigelovii) and detritus, in Adenostoma fasciculatum chaparral. World distribution: Europe and North America (New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvannia) Sonoran distribution: southern California (Santa Ana and Santa Monica mountains), 288-688 meters. Notes: Placynthiella hyporhoda is widespread but apparently rare. It is distinguished from other Placynthiella-species by its deep brown-red hypothecium and subhymenium that reacts K+ violaceous. The Sonoran specimens have relatively small spores.