''Buellia asterella'', commonly referred to as the starry breck lichen, is a rare, black and white

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Caliciaceae The Caliciaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. Although the family has had its classification changed several times throughout its taxonomic history, the use of mo ...

. Once found all across the central European grasslands, it was described as new to science in 1974. Today, it is classified by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

as Critically Endangered and only found in select regions in Norway and Germany.

Taxonomy

This lichen was originally described by Poelt and Sulzer in 1974. There aren’t any synonyms for this species of lichen.

Description

''B. asterella'' is a white and black lichen, growing on the surface of the soil where it is found. The white section of this lichen is the thallus and the black discs found on top are its fruiting structure. These black discs produce their asci, which only contain 4 spores per asci. This is very uncharacteristic for the phylum of

Ascomycota Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The def ...

as many are found with 8 spores in their asci. Their spores also do not have any internal wall thickening.

Habitat and Distribution

''B. asterella'' was originally endemic to all of the central European grasslands. They were particularly found in Norway,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Germany,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

. When they were extant in Great Britain, they resided in the

Breckland Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a la ...

and Sussex Coast. Today, they can only be found in select areas of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

.IUCN. “Buellia Asterella: Spribille, T., Bilovitz, P., Printzen, C., Haugan, R. & Timdal, E.: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: E.T70385861A70385867.” International Union for Conservation of Nature, June 29, 2015. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T70385861A70385867.en. The majority of its observations today are in the German lowlands. They are typically found at lower elevations under 900m, and in isolated dry grasslands. This lichen can be found growing on dry, basic soils like

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

, or

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...

Ecology

''Buellia asterella'' is found on the ground of soils in Europe, making grasses and shrubs their main competitor. It is believed that this competition and encroachment by the grasses and shrubs have contributed to their threatened population in their endemic ranges. It is also frequently grazed by rabbits, sheep, and goats that are native to its range. It is also grazed by human-introduced livestock, which also contributed to its endangered status

Conservation Efforts

''B. asterella'' was listed as critically endangered on June 29, 2015 by the IUCN. The main causes of the critically endangered status is the loss of habitat to farming and urbanization, expansion of shrub and grasslands, and trampling of suitable habitat. It is also currently red listed in numerous European countries such as Germany and France (labeled as Critically Endangered), United Kingdom and Switzerland (labeled as Extinct). ''B. asterella'' can currently be found in protected lands in Germany, as these protected lands are critical for the preservation of this species. It is known that this species is particularly sensitive to human induced habitat change and habitat destruction. There has been some research into transplanting these lichens into areas they once inhabited. While these transplants have survived, they have not expanded beyond the original transplant area

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10437283

asterella ''Asterella'' is a liverwort genus in the family Aytoniaceae Aytoniaceae is a family of liverworts in the order Marchantiales. Genera * '' Asterella'' Palisot De Beauvisage 1805 non Saccardo 1891 non Hara 1936 non Sollas 1886 * '' Cryptomi ...