Global occurrence: Africa (incl Madagascar) | Eurasia – Asia Extratropical | Eurasia – Europe | Americas – North America (incl Mexico) | Americas – South and Central America | Eurasia – Asia Tropical | Arctic. Substrate: bark, cork, plant surface – trunks, branches, twigs | rock – siliceous, siliciferous, acidic. Life habit: lichenized (mutualistic with algal photobionts). Thallus: fruticose (fruticous), shrub-like, beard-like; [th] upper surface: black(ish) | brown(ish) (if pale: fawn, tan; if mid: cinnamon); [th marginal and upper surface] specific structures: absent. Ascomata: absent. Secondary metabolites: present; fumarprotocetraric acid. Primary photobiont: present; chlorophytaceous – trebouxiaceous, chlorococcoid. Secondary photobionts (eg in cephalodia): absent.