Galapagos Species Database

Thallus thin, continuous to rimose, pale white, grayish or greenish white, or ochraceous; surface smooth to ±verrucose, not pruinose; Apothecia immersed to barely prominent, lirellate; lirellae ±narrow, oval to elongate, moderately lobed or shortly branched, rarely elaborately branched; labia thin, indistinct; disc expanded, flattened, covered by a thick, bright red, mealy, K+ greenish pruina (test in the microscope); exciple thin and poorly developed, excipular hyphae interspersed by the same reddish pigment that forms the epihymenial pruina, hyphal walls ±carbonized from a yellowish brown pigmentation; hymenium hyaline, clear (not inspers), I– or laterally weakly I+ pale blue; ascospores hyaline, I+ bluish violet, 8 per ascus, narrowly oblong to fusiform, 50-65 x 10-13 µm, transversely septate, 10-15 celled. Chemistry: Isohypocrellin (reddish apothecial pruina; K+ greenish); no other substances found; all other spot tests negative.

Because of the deep red lirellae with a flat, expanded disk not easily confused with any other species.