Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2004. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2.

Thallus: foliose, appressed to agglutinated, loosely appressed at the lobe tips, up to 6 cm in diam., pinnately or subpinnately lobate lobes: radiating, confluent, flat or convex, but sometimes concave towards the lobe tips, 0.5-2 mm wide, distinctly flabellate towards the lobe tips upper surface: gray, bluish gray or almost white, with a punctiform, rarely patchy white pruina or epruinose, sorediate soredia: farinose, in laminal, globose or elongated soralia pseudocyphellae: distinct, marginal, rarely also laminal, usually restricted to the peripheral parts of the lobes, sometimes reticulately confluent medulla: white, the lowest part sometimes orange, especially towards the lobe tips lower surface: black in center, paler towards lobe tips, erhizinate Apothecia: very rarely present, laminal on thallus, 0.5-1.5 mm wide disc: black, slightly grayish pruinose but mostly without a pruina ascospores: brown, 1-septate, narrowly ellipsoid, 15-22 x 6-8 µm Pycnidia: immersed in warts conidia: bacilliform, 3.5-5 x 0.8-1 µm Spot tests: upper cortex K+ yellow, C-, KC-, P+ yellow; medulla upper and lower part K-, C-, KC-, P- Secondary metabolites: upper cortex with atranorin, medulla with divaricatic acid and few terpenes in low concentration. Substrate and ecology: on bark, wood and rocks, from sea level to the edges of montane rain forests World distribution: in all tropical regions of both hemispheres with few collections from subtropical parts of Japan Sonoran distribution: especially in thorn forests and desert transition areas of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa and Sonora. Notes: Dirinaria applanata is very similar to D. aegialita and only specimens with distinctly farinose soredia are assigned here to D. applanata.