TYPE. SIERRA LEONE “Habitat in Africa ad Sierram Leonam supra corticem arborem” (Acharius 1814), E. Acharius s.n. (H-ACH 286, holotype).

Description. Life form: lichenized fungus.

Thallus crustose, whitish, yellowish or brownish; vegetative diaspores absent. Photobiont trentepohlioid alga. Ascomata apothecoid, round, sessile, constricted at base; exipular rim black, covered by thallus; disk brownish, sunken. Exciple entirely carbonized, with crystals on lateral edges. Hymenium hyaline, not inspersed, 90-130 µm high, I+ faint violet or grey-blue; epihymenium dark brown. Paraphyses ~1-1.5 µm thick, with gelatinous layer, anastomosing and branching in the lateral part of the hymenium; tips with many short side branches, slightly thickened and pigmented. Asci 6-8-spored; ascospores hyaline to somewhat brownish, muriform, 30-45 × 12-16 µm, young spores often with gelatinous envelope (perispore).

Chemistry. No substances detected by TLC; spores I+ blue-violet.

Substrate and Habitat. Corticolous on hardwood trees.

Distribution. Pantropical, north to eastern North America; in North Carolina found in Coastal Plain ecoregion.

Literature

Acharius, E. (1814) Synopsis Methodica Lichenum. Lund. 392 pp (original description as Lecidea scyphulifera).

Staiger B. (2002) Die Flechtenfamilie Graphidaceae. Studien in Richtung einer natürlicheren Gliederung. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 85: 1–526.