Comentário: Curtis has reported it for central Idaho; it’s a stretch but not out of the question to find it in Spokane. But yours is definitely what I would call black underneath. I hate measurements of lobe width, except as a relative thing: on average X. wyomingica is narrower than X. chlorochroa. I’m good with that. But a huge population like this? Not at all surprised to find wide lobes.

My take on this — and this is why I brought up Leavitt et al’s paper to start with — is that it’s not worth struggling over too much at this point! In a few years it’s all going to be stood on its head anyway. Let’s just call it X. wyomingica and move on to something we actually have a chance of understanding!

re: Lichenostigma cosmopolites

You’d know if that’s what it was. It always looks like a random network of superfine webby lines. They are 1- to few-cell-thick strands of hyphae joining conidiomata. Look for the tiny black dots the hyphae connect. Squash one under 400x to 1000x to see the conidia. Pretty tricky, though, since they are so tiny.

If you’re seeing whole areas turning black, or cracks through the cortex, then I agree, you’ve “just” got necrosis. Interesting in itself, no doubt, but not so easily pigeon-holed as a handily named parasite.