''Buellia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of mostly

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the family

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 mode ...

. The fungi are usually part of a

crustose lichen Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the Substrate (biology), substrate (soil, rock, tree bark, etc.), making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichen ...

. In this case, the lichen

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

is given the same name as the fungus. But members may also grow as

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 ...

s on lichens (

lichenicolous A lichenicolous fungus is a parasitic fungus that only lives on lichen as the host. A lichenicolous fungus is not the same as the fungus that is the component of the lichen, which is known as a lichenized fungus. They are most commonly specific to ...

). The

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

in the lichen (the

photobiont A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Trebouxia ''Trebouxia'' is a unicellular green alga.Silverside, A. J. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.bioref.lastdragon.org/Chlorophyta/''Trebouxia''.html It is a photosynthetic organism that can exist in almost all habitats found in polar, tropical, and ...

''. Lichens in the genus are commonly called disc lichens, or button lichens.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, The genus has a widespread distribution and contains about 450 species. Genetic studies indicate that the genus ''

Amandinea ''Amandinea'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Caliciaceae. Genetic studies indicates that the genus ''Amandinea'' and '' Buellia'' are the same,Scheidegger, C. 2009. Amandinea Choisy ex Scheid. & H. Mayrhofer (1993). In: C. W. Smith ...

'' and ''Buellia'' may be the same,Scheidegger, C. 2009. Amandinea Choisy ex Scheid. & H. Mayrhofer (1993). In: C. W. Smith, A. Aptroot, B. J. Coppins, A. Fletcher, O. L. Gilbert, P. W. James and P. A. Wosley (eds.) The Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland. The British Lichen Society, Natural History Museum Publications, United Kingdom, pp. 142–144 although this is not widely accepted.Amandinea punctata in the Joshua Tree National Park (California, U.S.A.) Map collection: Kerry Knudsen, Kocourková Jana; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Ecology, Czech Republic; 2012

Species

*''

Buellia abstracta ''Buellia abstracta'' (synonym – ''Buellia sequax'') is a crustose lichen. In California, it is the most commonly occurring member of the ''Buellia'' genus, and is common in the Mojave Desert. See also * List of ''Buellia'' species Referenc ...

'' *''

Buellia asterella ''Buellia asterella'', commonly referred to as the starry breck lichen, is a rare, black and white lichen in the family Caliciaceae. Once found all across the central European grasslands, it was described as new to science in 1974. Today, it is ...

'' *''

Buellia badia ''Buellia badia'', the parasitic button lichen, is a dark chocolate-brown crustose areolate lichen of Europe, northern Africa, and North America that starts as a parasite growing on other lichens, such as Aspicilia phaea, gradually then becomin ...

'' *''

Buellia concinna ''Buellia concinna'', the cinnabar button lichen, is a pale yellow to greenish or brownish bullate (bubble-like) to granular crustose lichen that prefers siliceous rock and cliff faces in temperate to subarctic, subalpine and alpine climates t ...

'' *'' Buellia disciformis'' *''

Buellia dispersa ''Buellia dispersa'' is a dull white to beige or dark brown crustose areolate lichen that grows on non-calcareous rock, such as basalt, granite and gneiss, in arid to semi-arid areas of northern Africa, Europe, and southwestern North America.Lic ...

'' *''

Buellia spuria ''Buellia spuria'', the disc lichen, is a white to light ashy gray crustose areolate lichen that grows on rocks (epilithic) in montane habitats.Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bugartz, F., (eds.) 2001. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Dese ...

Gallery

Image:Buellia.disciformis.jpg, '' Buellia disciformis'' Image:Buellia_stillingiana.jpg, '' Buellia stillingiana'' Image:Buellia disciformis-2.jpg, Photograph of a cross section of an apothecium from ''B. disciformis'' taken through a compound microscope (x400), showing numerous brown, 1-septate spores per ascus. Image:Buellia disciformis-4.jpg, Photograph of brown, 1-septate (2-celled) spores from ''B. disciformis'' taken through a compound microscope, x1000. (spores measure 27 x 11 micrometres)

References

* Caliciales genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 1846 Taxa named by Giuseppe De Notaris {{Caliciales-stub