TYPE. UNITED STATES. North Carolina, Washington County, Bull Neck Swamp, Deep Creek Rd N of jct with Bear Lane, 35°56'56''N, 75°24'02''W, elev. 1 ft., swamp forest with Chamaecyparis, Taxodium and mixed hardwoods (Acer, Magnolia virginiana, Persea) with Lyonia-Ilex glabra understorey, on Cheilolejeunea clypeata, on Magnolia virginiana, 23.III.2013, Lendemer et al. 36377 (NY, holotype).
Life form. Lichenized fungus.
Description. [Modified from Lendemer et al. (2016)] Thallus crustose, not readily visible and evident, consisting of globose goniocysts hidden among the leaves of the host liverwort; goniocysts globose, translucent to light greenish, 22–42 μm diam. Photobiont chlorococcoid alga, cells 6–9 μm diam. Ascomata lecideine apothecia, 0.20–0.35 mm diam., laminal on hepatic leaves, ±turbinate when young, becoming disciform, strongly constricted at the base; disk black; margin raised, black, persistent. Exciple brown with blackish brown area below the hymenium,±cellular with dark brown pigment granules between the hyphae (pigment K−or K + darkening), 37–42 μm thick above, thickening to 70–80 μm below; epihymenium brown (pigment K−or K + darkening); hymenium hyaline, clear, ~70 μm high; hypothecium greyish brown (pigment K−or K + darkening), thin, ~25 μm thick. Paraphyses unbranched, 2.0 μm wide, tips not or slightly expanded to 3.0 μm, often with brown pigment hoods surrounding the apical cell. AsciCatillaria-type, narrowly clavate, ~50–55 × 15–17 μm, 8-spored; ascospores hyaline, 1-septate, 9·5–12.6–16.0 × 5.0–6.3–7.5 μm, with weakly warted epispore. Pycnidia not known.
Chemistry. Spot tests negative; no substances detected by TLC.
Substrate and habitat. Hepaticolous on liverworts of Cheilolejunea.
Distribution. Southeastern North America; in North Carolina found in the Coastal Plain ecoregion.
Literature
Lendemer, J.C, W.R. Buck & R.C. Harris (2016) Two new host-specific hepaticolous species of Catinaria (Ramalinaceae). The Lichenologist48(5): 441-449 (original description).