TYPE. CHINA. Provinz Hunan: in insula Niutoutschou, prope urbem Tschangscha, 25 m, ad corticem vivum Xylosmatis racemosi 2.III.1919, H. Handel-Mazzetti 12788 (W, lectotype, designated by Lücking et al. 2009).

Description. Life form: lichenized fungus.

Thallus crustose, epiphloedal, whitish to whitish gray, or reddish gray (from decomposing norstictic acid), continuous, smooth, dull; prothallus blackish; vegetative diaspores absent. Photobiont Trenteophlia alga; cells 6-8 μm long. Ascomata lirellae, scattered, with lateral thalline margin, short to elongate, straight, or curved, mostly unbranched or sparsely to irregularly branched; labia divergent, entire, black, epruinose; disk at least partly exposed, beige to light brown, epruinose (handelii-morph). Exciple laterally carbonized; hymenium inspersed, 92-100 μm; paraphyses filiform, tight, interwoven, simple, septate, tips slightly widened. Asci 8-spored; ascospores hyaline, not halonate, transversely 5-11-septate, 20-40 x 6-9 μm.

Chemistry. Thallus K+ yellow turning red; norstictic acid (major), connorstic acid (minor).

Substrate and Habitat. Corticolous on hardwood trees.

Distribution. Pantropical, north into eastern North America; in North Carolina found in the Coastal Plain ecoregion.

Literature

Handel-Mazetti, H. (1930) Symbolae Sinicae III. Lichenes von A. Zahlbruckner. J. Springer, Wien. 254 pp (original description).

Kalb, J., R. Lücking & K. Kalb. (2018) The lichen genera Allographa and Graphis (Ascomycota: Ostropales, Graphidaceae) in Thailand – eleven new species, forty-seven new records and a key to all one hundred and fifteen species so far recorded for the country. Phytotaxa 377(1): 1-83.

Lücking, R., A.W. Archer & A. Aptroot (2009) A world-wide key to the genus Graphis (Ostropales: Graphidaceae). Lichenologist 41(4): 363-452.