Type: USA, California, San Bernandino County, Joshua Tree National Park, Little San Bernardino Mountains, east of Long Canyon on hillside, on gravelly soil of decomposed granite, 1316 m, 4 October 2011, K. Knudsen 13688 & M. Harding (UCR - holotype; UCR - isotype).

Barcode: Data lacking.

Coordinates: 34°04'31"N, 116°26'31"W.

Thallus: crustose, epilithic, poorly differentiated, becoming areolate at edges, or of distinct areoles, dispersed or contiguous, 0.2-0.3-0.6 mm in diameter, 0.2-0.3 mm thick, round to irregular, light to dark brown on upper surface, epruinose, smooth or fissured, broadly to narrowly attached, with usually pale lower surface, hypothallus of abundant endosubstratal rhizohyphae, binding the soil and rock particles in a continuous biological soil crust to several cm in diameter. Upper, lateral, and lower cortices 10-20-40 µm thick, paraplectenchymatous, cells globose to irregular, mostly 2-4 µm diameter, hyaline, with a thin brown pigmented upper layer mostly one or two cells thick, with or without a thin epicortex of gelatinized hyphae. Algal layer mostly 200 µm thick, upper and lower strata uneven, uninterrupted by hyphal bundles, continuous below apothecia, algal cells mostly 10 µm in diameter. Medulla 40-60 µm thick, of gelatinized hyphae mixed with substrate particles, or distinct hyphae coninuous with abundant rhizohyphae, hyaline, thinwalled, branching, 2.5-5 µm wide, IKI-. Apothecium one per areole, erumpent, areoles sometimes becoming reduced, forming the base of the apothecium, until only the apothecia are visible and the thallus appears endolithic, scattered or sometimes in dense clusters, mostly round, small 0.2-0.5 mm in diameter, margin thin, brown, raised above the disc, smooth or rough, sometimes undulate. Disc reddish-brown to dull brown, reddish orange when wetted, epruinose, smooth or scabrid. Exciple to 120 µm wide, hyaline within, outer layer dark pigmented, ca. 10-20 µm thick. Hymenium usually 80-100 µm tall, IKI- unstable, blue, yellow-green, or red, K/IKI+ blue, epihymenium ca. 10 µm high, with reddish-brown diffuse pigment, hymenium inspersed with oil drops, paraphyses not branching, conglutinate, 2-3 µm wide, cells 5-10 µm, often with oil drops, apices unexpanded or expanded to 4 µm with dark pigmented cap. Asci clavate, Acarospora-type stain in K/IKI, mostly 50-65 / 15-20 µm, 100+ ascospores per ascus. Ascospores simple, hyaline, ellipsoid, mostly 4-5 / 2 µm. Subhymenium to 20 µm thick, IKI+ blue. Hypothecium prosoplectenchymatous, 10-15 µm wide, expanding into excipular margin. Pycnidia absent to frequent, conidia simple, hyaline, 2-2.5 / 1.5-2 µm, mostly broadly ellipsoid to subglobose.

Photobiont: Data lacking.

Chemistry: Spot tests negative. No lichen substances.

Ecology: On gravelly soil of decomposed granite.

Distribution: Western North America. Database