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

Thallus: crustose, bullate-areolate, up to 10 cm in diam.; prothallus: present, black, usually visible between the areoles areoles: usually contiguous, angular, convex or flat surface: grayish or brownish yellow or orange-brown when fresh (becoming red-brown to brown in herbarium), convex or flat, smooth to often minutely wrinkled and becoming cracked cortex: pale gray above, 40-60 µm thick, with an epinecral layer above (15-40 µm thick) medulla: white; algal layer: 80-120 µm thick; algae: 8-10 µm in diam. Apothecia: black, 0.8-2.(-4.5) mm in diam., disc: black, flat initially, becoming irregularly convex, epruinose margin: biatorine, concolorous with the disc epihymenium: bluish green-black, sometimes in part brown hymenium: hyaline, 45-55 µm tall; hypothecium: hyaline above and pale yellow-brown below asci: clavate, 35-38 x 10-13 µm, 8-spored ascospores: hyaline, simple, ellipsoid, 7-12 x 3.5-5 µm Pycnidia: egg-shaped, dark brown, immersed conidia: hyaline, filiform, 6.5-10 x 1.5-1.8 µm Spot tests: upper cortex: K+ yellow or orange-red, C-, KC+ red, P-; medulla K-, C-, KC+ red, P+ orange Secondary metabolites: medulla with alectorialic acid (major), alectorialin, 5,7-dihydroxy-6-methylphthalide, barbatolic, roccellic and protocetraric acids (all accessory). Substrate and ecology: non-calciferous rock in open habitats, such as alpine areas and scree slopes in upper montane areas World distribution: arctic to alpine, primarily occurring in Asia, Europe, and North America and also found rarely in Australasia Sonoran distribution: limited to the alpine areas of the highest peaks of Arizona. Notes: Calvitimela armeniaca is facultatively lichenicolous on Sporastatia testudinea, a common alpine lichen in areas where C. armeniaca occurs.