TYPE. UNITED STATES. “Trunks in the mountainous districts of Northern New England, common.” (Tuckerman 1848).

Life form. Lichenized fungus.

Description. Thallus crustose, thick and verrucose; prothallus white, webby. Vegetative diaspores absent. Photobiont chlorococcoid alga. Ascomata lecanorine apothecia, large, up to 1.5 mm diam., constricted at base, somewhat raised; disk red-brown, lightly pruinose to epruinose; margin prominent, ragged. Paraphyses slightly branched. Asci clavate, with somewhat thickened tholus, K/I+ blue, 8-spored; ascospores hyaline, fusiform, ± curved or twisted (kidney-shaped), transversely 4-8-septate, 30-55 x 4-5.5 μm, septa often faint.

Chemistry. K+ deep yellow, KC-, C-, PD+ orange; thamnolic acid detected by TLC.

Substrate and habitat. Corticolous, mostly on conifers.

Distribution. Northeastern North America southwest along Appalachian mountains; in North Carolina found in the Blue Ridge ecoregion.

Literature

Brodo, I.M., S. Duran Sharnoff & S. Sharnoff. (2001) Lichens of North America. Yale University Press, New Haven & London. 795 pp.

Tuckerman, E. (1848) A synopsis of the lichenes of the northern United States and British America. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1: 195–285 (original description as Biatora ochrophaea).