Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2002. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 1.

Life habit: lichenized, lichenicolous or not Thallus: squamulose squamules: up to 3 mm diam., scattered to adjacent or irregularly imbricate, rounded or elongated, weakly convex to bullate upper surface: olivaceous green to grayish green or olivaceous brown to grayish brown, epruinose to partly (rarely entirely) covered by farinose pruina, dull or faintly shiny, smooth or sometimes with a few shallow fissures, lacking pores and pseudocyphellae upper cortex: up to 60 µm high, containing calcium oxalate margin: concolorous with upper surface or white Apothecia: up to 3 mm diam., plane and marginate when young, later convex and immarginate, epruinose or faintly pruinose or densely pruinose; exciple: dark gray in the rim, medium brown to dark reddish brown in inner part; hypothecium: reddish brown; epithecium: gray (K+ violet, N+ violet) asci: clavate, 8-spored ascospores: fusiform, 1-septate, 12-24 x 3-5 µm Pycnidia: not seen Spot tests: all negative Secondary metabolites: none detected in Sonoran material but some terpenoids found elsewhere. Host: cyanolichens Substrate and ecology: on soil and in fissures of often calciferous rock in open habitats and woodlands, up to 2380 m World distribution: widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, more scattered in the Southern Hemisphere Sonoran distribution: rather common in Arizona and California, rare in Baja California.