Cyphelium inquinans  (Sm.) Trevis.

     Thallus crustose, rather thick, verrucose, more or less cracked-areolate (as an old paint!) pale greyish, grey-white, prothallus inconspicuous. Apothecia usually numerous, scattered all over the thallus, variable in size and morphology, at first immersed, then markedly sessile and constricted towards the base, 0.5-1.5 mm diam., disc plane, covered by ascospores when fresh, black; margin farinose, white (possibly spotted by black ascospores) conspicuous, persistent. Asci uniseriate, cylindrical. Ascospores broadly ellipsoid, brown-black, densely crowded at the center (woolball like), surface cracked characterized by parallel ridges, 15-20 x 8-11 µm. Pycnidia frequent.  Photobiont : Trebouxia. Thallus: C-, K+ yellow to brown-red, Pd+ pale yellow, UV-. Rather rare in our prospection area, on old dry crafted wood, poles, fences, boat wood wrecks, etc., seldom on dry trunks devoid of bark. N.B. Specimen not dried-out can be identified simply by putting on a wet finger on apothecia: ascospores stain it black.*