Buellia arida
| Buellia arida | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Caliciales |
| Family: | Caliciaceae |
| Genus: | Buellia |
| Species: | B. arida
|
| Binomial name | |
| Buellia arida Elix (2020)
| |
| |
| Holotype site: Henbury Station, Northern Territory[1] | |
Buellia arida is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Caliciaceae.[2] It occurs in Australia. Buellia arida grows up to 4 cm wide, either concealed within or visible on rock surfaces, forming small, fragmented patches. It features an off-white, dull thallus, numerous black apothecia that become convex over time, and spores that evolve from pale to dark brown, characterized by their ellipsoid shape and finely decorated surface.
Taxonomy[edit]
The type specimen was collected near Rockhole Bore, Chandler Range (Henbury Station, Northern Territory) at an elevation of 434 m (1,424 ft), on a sandstone boulder. This location, near the base of a steep rocky slope in open shrubland, features Acacia, Dodonaea and Eremophila as the dominant plant vegetation. The lichen is named after its occurrence in arid habitats.[1]
Description[edit]
Buellia arida grows up to 40 mm (1.6 in) wide, either hidden within rocks or visible on rock surfaces. Its visible form appears as small, broken, skin-like patches around the lichen's fruiting bodies or in rock crevices. The thallus is off-white and dull, with algae cells measuring 8–19 μm wide. The lichen's fruiting bodies, known as apothecia, are numerous, black, and can become convex with age, surrounded by a thin outer layer. The spore-bearing tissue is colourless, while the supporting tissue beneath ranges from brown to deep red-brown. Buellia arida has sparsely branched thread-like structures (paraphyses) in its fertile tissue, with brown-tipped branches, and produces two-part spores that are ellipsoid and change from pale to dark brown, with a finely decorated outer surface. Rarely, the lichen has pycnidia, which have black openings and produce rod-shaped spores. The spores themselves are of the Buellia type, divided into two parts by a single septum, change from pale brown to dark brown as they mature, and are ellipsoid in shape, measuring 11–17 by 5–7 μm.[1]
Buellia arida is similar to Buellia abstracta, but is distinguished by larger ascospores and longer conidia.[1]
Habitat and distribution[edit]
The species is found in far-western New South Wales and southern parts of the Northern Territory. Commonly associated lichens include Buellia dispersa, B. spuria var. amblyogona, Filsoniana australiensis, Sarcogyne iridana, and Xanthoparmelia cravenii.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Elix, John A. (2020). "Ten new species and two new records of buellioid lichens (Physciaceae, Ascomycota) from Australia and Norfolk Island" (PDF). Australasian Lichenology. 87: 3–19.
- ^ "Buellia arida Elix". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
