TYPE. PORTUGAL. Azores, "Insula Terceira, summon montis Sta. Barbara, in ramulo, alt. 1000 m. Leg. 1937, H. Persson” (Degelius 1941a) (UPS, holotype).

Description. Life form: lichenized fungus.

[Translated from Degelius (1941a)] Thallus crustose, epiphloedal, thin, continuous, verrucose, whitish; prothallus indistinct. Photobiont trentepohlioid alga; cells angular-subglobose or ellipsoid, 10-15 µm diam. Ascomata biatorine apothecia, numerous, scattered or aggregated, sessile, the base distinctly constricted, 1.0-1.8 mm diam.; disk flat to slightly convex, black; margin prominent, pale, thick, smooth. Exciple hyaline or pale colored, 50-90 µm wide, pseudoparenchymatous, composed of radiating hyphae; epithecium bluish black, ~20 µm thick; hymenium hyaline, (65-)80-90 µm high, I+ blue; paraphyses ~1 µm thick, simple, agglutinated, tips pigmented; hypothecium pale to dark red-brown. Asci clavate, 55-70 x 17-20 µm, 8-spored, irregularly arranged. Ascospores ellipsoid, hyaline, 2-celled, not constricted at septum, (13-)15-17 x 6.5-8.5 µm, walls thick. Conidiomata not seen.

Chemistry. Thallus K+ yellow, C-, PD+ yellow or orange; atronorin, zeorin.

Substrate and Habitat. Corticolous.

Distribution. Disjunct as described from Azores (Degelius 1941a), Madiera (Breuss 2014) and reported from eastern North America (Degelius 1941b); in North Carolina reported from the Blue Ridge ecoregion.

Literature

Breuss, O. (2014) Weitere Flechtenfunde aus Madeira. Stapfia 101: 47–51.

Degelius, G. (1941a) Lichens from the Azores, mainly collected by Dr. H. Persson. Göteborgs Kungliche Vetenskaps. och Vitterhets Samhälles Handlingar. ser. 6B, 1(7): 1-46 (original description as Catinaria albocincta).

Degelius, G.N. (1941b) Contributions to the Lichen flora of North America I. The lichen flora of the Great Smoky Mountains. Arkiv för Botanik 30A, Nr. 3: 1-80.