Life habit: lichenized; Thallus: foliose, continuous with margin rounded or lobate, 3-10 cm wide, loosely adnate; lobes: irregular, broadly elongate, marginally entire or crenulate, often folded; lobe tips usually subrotund to rotund, often ascending, eciliate but with numerous white hairs; upper surface: dark greenish black, covered with scattered, white hairs, epruinose; lacking soredia or isidia; upper cortex: multilayered, paraplectenchymatous, 10-30 micrometer thick; cortex: multilayered, paraplectenchymatous, 20-40 micrometer thick; medulla: white or yellow, loose hyphae, 40-260 micrometer thick; photobionts: primary one a cyanobacterium (Scytonema), secondary photobiont absent; lower surface: dark greenish black, glabrous, rhizinate; rhizines: fasciculate; cyphellae and pseudocyphellae absent; Ascomata: apothecial, up to 1.2 mm wide, sessile, laminal on the upper surface, orbicular, cup-shaped; margin: paraplectenchymatous; disc: reddish brown, flat; anatomy: exciple: hyaline or light brown, 20-30 micrometer thick, epithecium: brown or brownish yellow; hymenium: colorless, 60-90 micrometer tall; paraphyses: ± branched, septate, apically capitate; hypothecium: hyaline; asci: clavate, 8-spored; Conidiomata: pycnidial, marginal, semi-immersed, punctiform, ostiole dark; conidia: bacilliform, 9-16 x 1 micrometer; Spot tests: all negative; Secondary metabolites: none detected.; Habitat and ecology: on rocks and soil among mosses in moist habitats; World distribution: rare in northern Europe and western North America, especially in California; Sonoran distribution: scattered locations in Arizona, southern California and Baja California (Guadalupe Island). 

Canada

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Rounded Global Status Rank: G4 - Apparently Secure

Reasons: This lichen is common and widespread in North America. In the Pacific Northwest this species is common east of the Cascades and less common west of the Cascades (McCune and Geiser 1997).