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Data Set Maintenance: Data set compiled (Sonoran Desert Lichen Flora Vol.1). Data set author(s): Bungartz F. (02-02-01). Data set to be published after submission; February 2002.

Nomenclature: Current taxonomic status: accepted. Taxonomic rank: species. Currently accepted name Physcia convexa Müll. Arg. Physcia. Physciaceae Zahlbr. (1898); Lecanorineae; Lecanorales.

Biogeography: Subtropical; submontane and montane. Continent: Northern America and Southern America. Checklist records: Mexico and Sonoran Desert.

Ecology: Biotroph; lichenized; saxicolous; episubstratic; growing sun-exposed or partially shaded; under conditions which are dry or moist.

Thallus: Foliose, subdivided into main parts, lobed; lobes plane or convex; sometimes imbricate. Thallus Size and Differentiation: Apex truncate. Thallus Outline: Sometimes irregular or orbicular; margin lobulate; darkened (turning brownish in old herbarium specimens) the thallus centre. Upper Surface: Grey, white, or pale grey, glossy (shiny), smooth; maculate; pruinose; eciliate; without hairs; not isidate; not sorediate; not blastidiate; not schizidiate. Lower Surface: Present, white (to pinkish yellow, shiny) or pale brown, firmly attached attached; attached by holdfasts (true rhizines); rhizinate; rhizines sparse, white (to pinkish yellow, concolorous with thallus undersurface) or pale brown, not branched or branched (rhizines simple to sparsely furcate), sparsely furcate.

Upper Cortex: Present; outer cortical layer paraplectenchymatous; inner cortical layer paraplectenchymatous (sometimes indistinct but the lowermost cells always short and thick-walled). Medulla: White. Lower Cortex: Present.

Reproduction Strategy: With sexual (and possible asexual) stages. Ascocarps: Orbicular, soon sessile or substipitate, abundant. Margin: Lecanorine, smooth, persistent, distinct or prominent; not isidiate; not ciliate; not hirsute. Disk: Plane; black; epruinose. Epithecium: With epithecium (simple or forked); apical cells subulate (clavate with dark brown cap), pale brown. Hymenium: White; not inspers. Interascal Hyphae: Scarcely branched, not or scarcely anastomosed. Subhymenium: White. Hypothecium: White; not inspers.

Ascospores: Physcia-type and Pachysporaria-type, c. 8 per ascus, ellipsoid, (15)-16-19-(21) µm long, (8)-9-11-(14) µm wide; septa present; transversally septate; 1-transversally septate; wall thickened at the septum, becoming pigmented, dark brown (at maturity) or middle brown.

Conidia: Bacilliform (not bacilliform but cylindrical); 4-6 µm long; 1 µm wide.

Secondary Metabolites: Present; only in the upper part of the cortex or throughout the thallus medulla, atranorin (and triterpenes) or hopane-6a,22-diol, metabolite(s) of unresolved identity: present (triterpenes).

Spot Tests: Present reactions. Upper surface: K + deep yellow, C –, KC –, PD + yellow; cortex: KC + deep yellow, – medulla: K – C –, KC –, PD + red (yellow not red); soredia: K + deep yellow; KC –.

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