TYPE. CUBA. Wright Lichenes Cubae 97 pr. p. (FH pr. p., lectotype).

Thallus foliose, orbicular up to 2-14 cm diam., smooth, pale to brownish gray with white maculae. Lobes linear, appressed with rounded tips without pruina. Vegetative diaspores small polysidiangia (schizidia), starting as small groups of short isidia-like structures that can burst, exposing the medulla and liberating soredioid granules and fragments, sometimes producing farinaceous soredia, simple becoming coralloid, erect, marginal. Photobiont trebouxioid alga. Medulla pale sulfur yellow. Lower surface dark brown to black; rhizines black, mostly simple, frequent. Ascomata lecideine apothecia, rare, up to 1.0 mm diam.; disk black, epruinose, flat to concave. Epithecium dark, K+ violet; hymenium 120-140 μm, I+ bluish; paraphyses confluent, unbranched, tips swollen; hypothecium yellow-brown. Asci clavate, 8-spored; ascospores brown, 3-4-celled, ellipsoid, 14-24 x 4-10 μm. Pycnidia absent.

Chemistry. Thallus UV-, K+ yellow; medulla UV-, K+ reddish orange, KC-, C-, PD-; atronorin, triterpenes.

Substrate and Habitat. Corticolous on trees.

Distribution. Africa, South, Central and North America; in North Carolina represented by one collection in the Blue Ridge ecoregion.

Literature

Jungbluth, P. (2010). Estudos taxonômicos em Physcia (Schreb.) Michx. e Pyxine Fr. (Physciaceae, Ascomycota). São Paulo. Tese (doutorado) — Instituto de Botânica da Secretaria de Estado do Meio Ambiente.

Tuckerman, E. (1877) Observationes lichenologicae No. 4. Observations on North American and other lichens. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 12: 166-185 (original description as Pyxine cocoes var. eschweileri).

Wainio, E.A. (1890) Etude sur la classification et la morphologie des lichens du Brésil, I. Acta Soc. pro Fauna et Flora Fennica 7: 1-247.