Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2007. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 3.

Thallus: thin foliose, lobate, up to 5 cm wide lobes: flat, ramified, up to 2 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, bent upwards upper surface: dark olive, sorediate soredia: farinose, in marginal soralia upper cortex: not developed but with a pale yellow epinecral layer 6-12 µm thick medulla: paraplectenchymatous, composed of densely interwoven hyphae, cells globose, 6-11 µm wide, with a poorly delimited algal region in the upper part lower cortex: not fully developed, with elongated cells lower surface: light brown, attached with tufts of thick-walled, anastomosing rhizohyphae, 2-5 µm thick Apothecia: (only known from African material) numerous, adnate, with a raised rim when mature disc: reddish brown, 0.2-0.4 mm in diam.; exciple: rudimentary hymenium: 180-200 µm tall asci: clavate to obclavate, young ascus walls weakly I+ blue, mature ascus walls I+ reddish brown, clearly blue after pretreatment with K, more than 100-spored ascospores: hyaline, ellipsoid to fusiform, simple, 4-5.5 x 1.5-2.2 µm Pycnidia: none detected Spot tests: all negative Secondary metabolites: not investigated. Substrate and ecology: on bark (Quercus agrifolia) in deserts and other arid habitats World distribution: eastern Africa (Kenya), Arabian peninsula (Yemen), SW North America Sonoran distribution: southern California, Santa Cruz Island, C. Bratt 3475, 350 ft., 5 August 1983 (SBBG #3475). Notes: Büdel (1987) proposed Peltula sect. foliosae to accommodate his newly described Peltula corticola, as no other Peltulae were known to occur on bark. Subsequently, Kalb (2001) proposed transferring P. corticola to a newly described genus, Phyllopeltula and added a second species. Unpublished molecular investigations by A. Rauhut do not support the new genus as necessary, and consequently the original circumscription as P. corticola is retained here.