Chirleja, a new genus of lichenized-fungi, is described to accommodate C. buckii, a new species from southern South America with an unusual morphology and mode of reproduction. Through an approach that utilizes both molecular and non-molecular data, the species is shown to represent a previously unknown lineage within the family Icmadophilaceae characterized by the production of sporodochia and a sterile dimorphic thallus that resembles the unrelated genus Leprocaulon.