Description: Together with Opegrapha vulgate, this is one of the smallest of the common ‘scripture’ lichens. However, the discs (lirellae) are much smaller (0.3-1.0mm long) and it grows on trees with a more basic bark such as ash, sycamore or elm. The thin, grey to olive-brown thallus is sprinkled with discs that at first are just a slit, but later widens more with age. Eastern Ireland, rarer in the west.

Key Identification Features:

• On basic-barked trees; it has extremely small lirellae (often <1mm in length)
• Little dots occur with the discs that contain conidia that are worm-like, not sickle-shaped, or bacteria-shaped, as in O. vulgata.

Original text submitted by Vince J. Giavarini

Distribution Map from NBN: Opegrapha niveoatra at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Opegrapha niveoatra at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.