''Buellia badia'', the parasitic button lichen, is a dark chocolate-brown

crustose Crustose is a habit of some types of algae and lichens in which the organism grows tightly appressed to a substrate, forming a biological layer. ''Crustose'' adheres very closely to the substrates at all points. ''Crustose'' is found on rocks and ...

areolate Lichens are composite organisms made up of multiple species: a fungal partner, one or more photosynthetic partners, and sometimes a basidiomycete yeast. They are regularly grouped by their external appearance – a characteristic known as their ...

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

growing on other lichens, such as Aspicilia phaea, gradually then becoming independent growing on rock (sometimes also on hardwood.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, Buellia badia, Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region, Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bugartz, F., (eds.) 2001

Areoles In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cactus, cacti out of which grow clusters of Thorns, spines, and prickles, spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cactus, cacti, and identify them as a family distinct fr ...

may be contiguous or dispersed.

Lecideine A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.apothecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mo ...

are 0.3 to 0.9 mm in diameter with black discs, that are initially flat, then become strongly convex as they age. Lichen spot tests are all negative. There are no known

secondary metabolites Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved in the nor ...

as of (2001). It is similar in appearance and other ways to the chocolate brown '' Dimelaena californica'', which also starts off as a parasite on other lichens, and has spores of similar shape, size, and internal construction. ''D. californica'' has not been found on wood, is more preferential as to the lichens it starts growing on (usually '' Dimeleana radiate''), and commonly has

norstictic acid Norstictic acid is a depsidone produced as a secondary metabolite Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fun ...

as a

secondary metabolite Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved in the norm ...

. Some think they should be included in a new, third genus.

References

badia Lichen species Lichens described in 1825 Lichens of North America Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries {{Caliciales-stub

See also

References