Primary squamules persistent or disappearing, to 3 mm long and 2 mm wide, crenate or subentire, ascending, plane or subconvex, sparse to frequent, upper surface glaucescent or yellowish-glaucescent, lower surface pale or whitish or striped brownish, blackened at base, esorediate. Podetia arising from margins of primary squamules or more often from thallus fragments, 1.5-6 cm tall, 0.5-1.5 mm diam., cylindrical or subcylindrical, commonly, without cups, rarely with cups, cups small, membrane open or closed, margins ± dentate, simple or ± dichotomously branching, rarely squamulose, apices blunt or furcate, rarely spinose or with cups, erect, rarely decumbent, crowded, sometimes fissured towards base. Cortex subcontinuous, areolate, areolae dispersed, often elevated towards base, esorediate, smooth, occasionally squamulose, yellowish or pale yellow or yellow-grey to brownish at apices. Apothecia small to 0.5 mm wide, clustered (4-20) to ± solitary, often on thin, blackened stalks, terminal, plane at first with a thin margin, becoming convex and immarginate, peltate, brown or blackened. Chemistry: Cortex, K-, KC+ yellowish, Pd-, or extreme tips Pd+ yellow. Usnic, thamnolic and barbatic (tr.) acids and an unidentified terpene.