Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2002. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 1.

Thallus: squamulose, forming a extensive crusts over the ground, up to 10 cm diam., lacking a distinct hypothallus squamules: often 1-2 mm diam. but not always distinct, imbricate, marginally dissolved in bluish soredia, only with a cortex centrally upper surface: lead blue to brownish, smooth where corticate upper cortex: paraplectenchymatous with irregularly thickened cell walls, 20-30 µm thick Apothecia: rare (not observed in Sonoran material), laminal, with an excluded margin that sometimes is sorediate; disc: brown, mostly convex; exciple: subparaplectenchymatous, narrow, usually 40-50 (-80) µm thick; hymenium: I+ blue-green and rapidly turning red-brown, up to 100 (-150) µm high asci: with apical amyloid tubes, 8-spored ascospores: simple, colorless, ellipsoid, 16-22 x 7-9 µm Pycnidia: not observed Spot tests: all reactions negative Secondary metabolites: none detected. Substrate and ecology: on soil, mostly on road-cuts or river banks, possibly a rather short-lived colonizer World distribution: endemic to Pacific regions of North America. Sonoran distribution: only known from a few collections in southern California. Notes: Fuscopannaria cyanolepra is a true sorediate species in the F. praetermissa complex. It somewhat resembles Moelleropsis nebulosa, a species that is paler gray-blue and lack any cortical development of the thallus. Potentially it may be confused with the rare F. mediterranea, a species that occurs on bark. The latter species also has lead-gray soredia, but they are more fine-grained and they do not totally dissolve the margin. Furthermore, the squamules of F. mediterranea are more olivaceous and the corticate portion of the squamules more swollen. When wet F. cyanolepra looks similar to a Collema.