TYPE. UNITED STATES. North Carolina, Transylvania County, on Acer [maple], 8.V.1995, T. Tønsberg 21770 (BG, holotype).

Description. Life form: lichenized fungus.

[Modified from Kalb 2004] Thallus corticolous, 0.1-0.3 mm thick, continuous, areolate, warty, grayish, greenish to pale tan; warts hemispheric, 0.2-0.3 mm diam., filled with large CaCO3 crystals. Vegetative diaspores soredia in soralia on thallus surface; soralia hemispheric, 0.5-1.5 mm diam., discrete or confluent; soredia finely granular, 25-50 μm diam. Photobiont chlorococcoid alga. Ascomata lecanorine apothecia, sessile, contricted at base, 0.7-1.3 mm diam.; disk flat, flesh-colored to pale brownish, epruinose; thalline rim (amphithecium) thick, crenulate, entire or sorediate. Asci 8-spored; ascospores simple, hyaline, fusiform to broadly fusiform, 11-16 x 4-9 μm.

Chemistry. Atranorin, arthothelin (major); 6-O-methylarthothelin (=subgranulosin, submajor), unidentified xanthones (traces).

Substrate and habitat. Cortiocolous on trunks and branches of trees and shrubs (hardwoods and pines) as well as lignicolous on wood.

Distribution. Eastern North America and eastern Australia; in North Carolina found in the Blue Ridge ecoregion.

Literature.

Elix, J.A. (2007) Additional lichen records from Australia 64. Australasian Lichenology 61: 8-15.

Kalb, K. (2004) New or otherwise interesting lichens II. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 88: 301-330 (original description).