Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2004. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2.
Internal structure: homoiomerous, prosoplectenchymatous, becoming gelatinized, with rhizohyphae Ascomata: black, dull, convex, epruinose, 2-4 mm across, dispersed or contiguous, perithecioid, erumpent, coarctate with receding thalline veil, becoming partially sessile, eventually splitting open and exposing apothecium exciple: well-developed, prosoplectenchymatous, with angular, thin-walled lumina, to 100 µm thick, outer surface dark blackish brown to reddish brown, carbonaceous, inwardly almost colorless but with red or brown tints, hyphae ending in periphyses, surrounding and over-arching the immersed apothecium, concealing it, with a minute pore above the disc; eventually splitting open in stellate pattern, exposing the apothecium; ultimately evanescent, disintegrating with apothecium, leaving pits in thallus surface, surrounded with carbonized fragments of the exciple's outer wall Conidiomata: unknown World and Sonoran distribution: southern California (San Jacinto Mountains, 170-930 meters, east and west slopes). It is currently known from only two sites on west slope near Hemet, discovered by J. C. Lendemer (Knudsen and Lendemer 2005a.). The type locality, near Palm Springs, at 170 m, was probably destroyed by urban development. Notes: The description of Ramonia ablephora (Nyl ex Hasse) R. C. Harris in Vol. 2 of the Sonoran Lichen Flora (Ryan and Nimis, 2004) includes the spore size and distribution information of R. gyalectiformis. But R. ablephora has slightly smaller ascomata and larger ascospores and is known only from the type collection by Hasse in the Santa Monica Mountains. It has not been re-collected. But it is inconspicuous and may still persist in coastal canyons or on ridges. R.C. Harris overlooked the difference of spore size and the ecological situation between the species (Harris, pers com.), and made R. gyalectiformis a synonym of R. ablephora (1993). Knudsen and Lendemer (2005a) re-examined the problem with fresh collections of R. gyalectiformis (hb. Lendemer, NY, UCR) compared with isotype of R. ablephora (NY) and rejected the synonymy, with the support of R.C. Harris. Theoretically both species of this tropical genus are descendents of a common ancestor from probably narrowly endemic to single mountain ranges and southern California's tropical climate before the last glacial naturally rare. The discovery of surviving populations of cycle, having speciated in different ecological situations Ramonia ablephora as well as more populations of R. gya(coastal and desert), adapting to the slowly-developing lectiformis is necessary to compare these two species on a Mediterranean climate of modern southern California and molecular level. Thallus: effuse, irregularly rimose surface: dingy white, pulverulent, rugulose Apothecia: dispersed, immersed, gyalectiform, surrounded by a subcoarctate pseudothalline margin disc: flat, reddish to blackish brown true exciple: thin, composed of hyphae with small, thin walled, angular cells, ending in periphyses with +pointed apices, hypothecium: hyaline to pale yellow hymenium: hyaline, 100-128 µm tall, I+ pale blue epihymenium: continuous, pale yellow to pale brown; paraphyses: slender, subcoherent, not thickened at tips asci: c. 100 x 20 µm, 8-spored ascospores: ellipsoid to oblong-ellipsoid, straight, 4celled, 20-28 x 6-7 µm Pycnidia: unknown Spot tests: all negative Secondary metabolites: none detected. Substrate and ecology: on sandy earth among rocks World distribution: North America (California) Sonoran distribution: southern California (San Jacinto Mountains), 170 m.