Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2004. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2.

Thallus: crustose, continuous or verrucose-areolate; prothallus: not visible areoles: flat or verruculose, thin or thick, opaque, ecorticate surface: smooth or rough, yellowish white to yellowish gray or whitish gray to gray, epruinose, with an indistinct margin, sometimes sorediate soredia: if present granulose in well defined, white to whitish gray or pale yellow to yellowish gray soralia Apothecia: constricted at the base to almost subpedicilate, 0.6-2.5 mm in diam., lecanorine disc: red-brown, plane, epruinose margin: concolorous with thallus, thin or thick, persistent, even or prominent, entire or flexuose, smooth, without a parathecial ring amphithecium: present, with numerous algal cells, with large and small crystals, the small ones soluble in K or with numerous small crystals which dissolve in K, corticate; cortex: hyaline, distinct, basally thickened, gelatinous or interspersed, (25-)30-40(45) µm thick laterally, (30-)40-90(-100) µm thick basally parathecium: hyaline, lacking crystals epihymenium: red-brown to orange-brown, with pigment not dissolving in K, without crystals hymenium: hyaline, clear or inspersed with small oil droplets; paraphyses: slightly thickened (up to 3.5 µm wide) apically; subhymenium: hyaline, 15-20 µm thick; hypothecium: hyaline, without oil droplets asci: clavate, 8-spored ascospores: hyaline, simple, ellipsoid, (12-)16.5-19.5(-20) x (6.5-)8.5-10.5(-11) µm; wall: more than 1 µm thick Pycnidia: immersed, cerebriform or ovoid; conidiophores: type II sensu Vobis, or of type III sensu Vobis conidia: filiform Spot tests: K + yellow, C-, KC-, P- or P+ pale yellow. Secondary metabolites: atranorin (major), chloroatranorin (minor). Substrate and ecology: on bark and wood of deciduous trees and conifers World distribution: in temperate regions of the holarctic in Asia, Europe, and North America Sonoran distribution: Arizona and Baja California. Notes: Lecanora allophana is characterized by the presence of small amphithecial crystals and an indistinct amphithecial cortex. It is quite variable and thus sometimes difficult to distinguish from similar species, such as L. epibryon, L. horiza and L. impudens. The differences were discussed in detail by Brodo (1984). L. horiza differs in having a distinct cortex and smaller ascospores. L. epibryon occurs on soil and detritus and has a thicker thallus, but is otherwise very similar to L. allophana. The sorediate L. impudens differs from sorediate morphs of L. allophana by the coarser, granular soredia, excavate soralia, and smaller ascospores. (de Lesd.) Printzen, Bryologist