| Arthonia radiata | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Arthoniomycetes |
| Order: | Arthoniales |
| Family: | Arthoniaceae |
| Genus: | Arthonia |
| Species: | A. radiata |
| Binomial name | |
| Arthonia radiata | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
List
| |
Arthonia radiata, the asterisk lichen, [2] is a common and widepspread species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. [3]
Arthonia radiata is the type species of the genus Arthonia . It was first formally described by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1794, who called it Opegrapha radiata. [4] Erik Acharius transferred it to the genus Arthonia in 1808. [5] It has been known by many names in its lengthy taxonomic history. [1]
The genome of Arthonia radiata has been sequenced and assembled. The draft genome is approximately 33.5 megabases in size, contains 6,931 annotated genes, and consists of 16.65% repeat sequences, predominantly LTR elements. [6]
Arthonia radiata is a crustose lichen with an immersed thallus, often separated from its surroundings by a thin brown line. The thallus is typically pale, ranging from white to pale grey, sometimes with a brown or olive tinge, and often forms a mosaic-like pattern on its substrate . Its reproductive structures, called apothecia, are black and can appear in various shapes—rounded, star-like (stellate), or elongated. These apothecia can measure between 0.15 and 2.2 mm across, and are usually flat or slightly convex. They lack a frosted appearance, often referred to as being non- pruinose . [7]
Under a microscope, the apothecia have a thin epithecium (the upper layer) that is brown or olive-brown, reacting to certain chemical tests by turning pale green. The internal structure includes a clear hymenium (spore-producing layer) and a hypothecium (the layer beneath) that is also colourless to pale olive-brown. The paraphysoids (sterile filaments within the hymenium) are narrow, 1–2 μm wide, but can expand to 3 μm, and they are often capped with darker brown tips. [7]
Arthonia radiata produces spores that are cylindric-obovoid to cylindrical, with 3 internal walls (septa) dividing the spore into 4 cells. These ascospores measure between 15 and 20 μm long and 4.5 to 6 μm wide, and the uppermost cell is not enlarged. While its asexual reproductive structures, pycnidia, are rare, they are immersed in the thallus and black, with a pale green reaction in chemical tests. These structures release small, rod-like conidia (asexual spores), about 4–5 μm long. [7]
No secondary metabolites, often used to identify lichen species, have been detected in Arthonia radiata using thin-layer chromatography. [7]
Arthonia radiata is a widespread and common species. It grows on the smooth bark of many trees and shrubs. [7]
Lichenicolous fungi that have been recorded growing on Arthonia radiata include Muellerella polyspora , Stigmidium arthoniae , and an undescribed species of Opegrapha . [7]
The Arthoniaceae are a family of lichenized, lichenicolous and saprobic fungi in the order Arthoniales. The Arthoniaceae is the largest family of Arthoniales, with around 800 species. Most species in Arthoniaceae belong in Arthonia which is the largest genus with 500 species. The second and third largest genus is Arthothelium with 80 species, and Cryptothecia with 60 species.
Arthothelium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Arthoniaceae.
Arthonia is a genus of lichens in the family Arthoniaceae. It was circumscribed by Swedish botanist Erik Acharius in 1806.
Roccella is a genus of 23 species of lichens in the family Roccellaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1805, with Roccella fuciformis as the type species.
Felipes is a genus of lichenized fungi in the order Arthoniales. Circumscribed by Andreas Frisch and Göran Thor in 2014, it contains the single species Felipes leucopellaeus. Genetic analysis shows that the genus falls into the order Arthoniales, but its familial placement is uncertain. Felipes leucopellaeus is found across Europe and North America in temperate and boreal regions, typically in old-growth forest or wooded mires. It is crustose and corticolous.
Lecanographaceae is a family of mostly lichens in the order Arthoniales. The family was circumscribed in 2014, prompted by a molecular phylogenetic-based restructuring of the Arthoniales.
Dictyographa is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Opegraphaceae. It comprises three species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens. The genus was originally described by the Swiss scientist Johannes Müller Argoviensis in 1893, who distinguished it from related genera by its unique spore structure and interconnected filaments within its reproductive organs. Dictyographa lichens are characterised by their elongated, slit-like fruiting bodies and spores that are divided by both vertical and horizontal internal walls. The genus has been subject to taxonomic debate, with some researchers proposing to merge it with the related genus Opegrapha. However, genetic studies have since confirmed Dictyographa as a distinct evolutionary lineage. These lichens are found in various parts of the world, including Africa, the Middle East, and Hawaii, typically growing in coastal environments.
Solorina crocea, commonly known as the orange chocolate chip lichen, is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling) and foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. The lichen, which was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, has an arctic–alpine and circumpolar distribution and occurs in Asia, Europe, North America, and New Zealand. It generally grows on the bare ground in sandy soils, often in moist soil near snow patches or seepage areas. Although several forms and varieties of the lichen have been proposed in its history, these are not considered to have any independent taxonomic significance.
Verrucaria muralis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling, crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is a common species with an almost cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in an altitudinal range extending from the lowlands to the subalpine zone. It grows on calcareous rocks and walls. It was first formally described as a new species in 1803 by Swedish lichenologist Erik Acharius.
Verrucaria viridula is a common and widely distributed species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Although it is a somewhat morphologically variable species, two persistent distinguishing characteristics are its relatively large perithecia, which are often curved into a beak, and its large ascospores.
Coniocarpon is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Arthoniaceae. It has eight species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens. This genus is distinct for its crystalline orange, red, and purple quinoid pigments in the ascomata that turn purple in potassium hydroxide solution, its colourless, transversely septate ascospores with large apical cells, and its rounded to lirellate ascomata.
Tetramelas gariwerdensis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Physciaceae, described in 2020. It is found in the Grampian Mountains in western Victoria, Australia.
Amandinea pilbarensis is a little-known species of crustose lichen in the family Physciaceae, First described in 2020, it is found in Australia. It is similar to Amandinea polyxanthonica, but can be distinguished by its smaller ascospores and the presence of calcium oxalate and thiophanic acid in the medulla.
Zwackhia viridis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), script lichen in the family Lecanographaceae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, and has been documented in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania.
Sucioplaca is a single-species fungal genus in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains Sucioplaca diplacia, a saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen. It is common and widely distributed in the Caribbean, Central America, and the Galápagos Islands, where it grows on coastal rocks.
Buellia bahiana is a crustose-type lichen species that frequently grows on the bark and wood of trees found in coastal and inland forest habitats. This lichen species exhibits a broad geographic distribution, being documented in various pantropical and subtropical regions around the world. Specific areas where Buellia bahiana has been recorded include parts of Australia, Africa, North America, Central America, South America, and several Pacific Island chains.
Arthonia toensbergii is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus in the family Arthoniaceae. It occurs in old-growth boreal rainforests in Norway, where it parasitises the lichen Mycoblastus affinis growing on trunks and branches of Norway spruce.
Sparria is a small genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Opegraphaceae.
Romjularia is a fungal genus in the family Lecideaceae, containing the single species Romjularia lurida, a saxicolous and terricolous squamulose lichen.
Leprantha is a fungal genus in the family Arthoniaceae. It comprises a single species, Leprantha cinereopruinosa, a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen.