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

Life habit: lichenicolous, non-lichenized Ascomata: perithecial, (sub)globose to applanate, carbonaceous, black, smooth or rough, semi-immersed or superficial in the thallus of the host, ostiolate, with a central ostiole located in a papilla; singly scattered or more rarely crowded in small groups wall: continuous, composed of three layers: an inner excipular layer and two outer involucrellum layers; external involucrellum layer: always carbonaceous, consisting of isodiametric, thick-walled cells, with enlarged lumina and black walls; internal involucrellum layer colorless to black, paraplectenchymatous, consisting of isodiametric, thin-walled cells, with enlarged lumina and a colorless to pigmented wall; internal involucrellum layer: usually thicker than the external one; excipular layer: thinner, hyaline, composed of cells becoming laterally compressed, with thin, colorless walls and enlarged lumina hamathecium: formed by paraphyses and periphyses paraphyses: septate, simple or poorly branched, soon becoming evanescent periphyses: branched, present in the ostiole; hymenial gelatine: I- asci: arising from the base and angles of the ascomatal cavity, elongate claviform to cylindrical, shortly stalked, unitunicate, thin-walled, slightly thickened at the apex of young asci, 8-spored, I- ascospores: hyaline, simple or with one or more transverse septa, cylindrical-bacilliform, acicular, filiform or sigmoid, with capitate apices in some taxa, thin-walled, not constricted at the septa, without gelatinous perispore Conidiomata: unknown Geography: abundant in Northern Hemisphere, particularly in Europe, North America and North Africa Substrate: on lichens.