Thallus usually composed of minute granules, these often run together to form a leprose or verrucose and rarely areolate or even subsquamulose crust, rarely disappearing; apothecia minute or small, usually adnate, with a weak and often covered exciple; hypothecium pale to dark brown; hymenium pale or tinged brown; spores hyaline, usually fusiform or dactyloid, varying from 4 - to 9-celled.    From Wordnik.com.  [Ohio Biological Survey, Bull. 10, Vol. 11, No. 6 The Ascomycetes of Ohio IV and V] Reference

Thallus thin and granular, passing into smooth or leprose conditions, thence to thickened and subareolate states, ash-colored to dark brown-green, usually continuous over considerable areas; apothecia minute to middle-sized, 0.4 to 0.1 mm. in diameter, from brown-black with lighter exciple to wholly black, adnate or somewhat immersed, flat or finally convex with the exciple at length covered; hypothecium pale brown to black-brown; hymenium pale or rarely pale brown; paraphyses distinct to coherent semi-distinct; asci clavate; spores fusiform-dactyloid, 4-celled, 12 to 20 mic. long and 2.5 to 4.5 mic. wide (Fig. 5).    From Wordnik.com.  [Ohio Biological Survey, Bull. 10, Vol. 11, No. 6 The Ascomycetes of Ohio IV and V] Reference

Thallus of minute, usually crowded, sometimes confluent granules, these forming an ash - or green-gray, thin, leprose or subgranulose, sometimes scattered and disappearing crust; apothecia minute to middle-sized, 0.2 to 0.75 mm. in diameter, light brown to black, adnate to sessile, scattered or clustered, becoming strongly convex and the exciple becoming covered; hypothecium pale or darker brown; hymenium pale, or tinged brown below and more plainly brown above; paraphyses coherent, semi-distinct to indistinct; asci clavate or long-clavate; spores ellipsoid to fusiform, 4 - to 8-celled, 16 to 35 mic. long and 4 to 8 mic. wide.    From Wordnik.com.  [Ohio Biological Survey, Bull. 10, Vol. 11, No. 6 The Ascomycetes of Ohio IV and V] Reference