# Asteroporum

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***Asteroporum*** is a little-known [genus](/source/Genus) of putatively [lichen](/source/Lichen)-forming [fungi](/source/Fungi) of uncertain [familial](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) and [ordinal](/source/Order_(taxonomy)) placement in the [Dothideomycetes](/source/Dothideomycetes). It comprises six species.

## Taxonomy

The genus was [circumscribed](/source/Circumscription_(taxonomy)) in 1884 by [Johannes Müller Argoviensis](/source/Johannes_M%C3%BCller_Argoviensis). The original description was based on a single known example collected from Palestine, *[A. perminimum](/source/Asteroporum_perminimum)*, the [type species](/source/Type_species). The genus name refers to the star-shaped opening of its fruiting bodies ([apothecia](/source/Apothecia)). *A. perminimum*, grows in an extremely reduced form with no visible [thallus](/source/Thallus) (fungal body) on the rock surface except where the reproductive structures appear.[1]

The type species *A. perminimum* was found growing on small [calcareous rocks](/source/Calcareous_rock) near [Petiville](/source/Petiville,_Seine-Maritime). Its fruit bodies are round to slightly oval, somewhat flattened with a slightly depressed centre, and have a distinct black rim. The spores measure 12–17 [micrometres](/source/Micrometre) long by 7–8 micrometres wide, with a slight pinching in the middle, and the upper part of each spore is slightly wider than the lower part.[1]

In 1926, [Alexander Zahlbruckner](/source/Alexander_Zahlbruckner) transferred some species to the genus that had originally been described in the genus *[Astrotrema](/source/Astrotrema)*.[2]

The genus has been little used since its original proposal.[3] Reflecting the uncertainty of its taxonomic relationships, it has been variously classified as *[incertae sedis](/source/Incertae_sedis)* (uncertain placement) in the order [Pyrenulales](/source/Pyrenulales),[4] the [Arthoniales](/source/Arthoniales),[5] the subdivision [Pezizomycotina](/source/Pezizomycotina),[6] and the division [Ascomycota](/source/Ascomycota).[7] In *The 2024 Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa*, it is listed as being of uncertain placement in the [Dothideomycetes](/source/Dothideomycetes).[8] [Robert Lücking](/source/Robert_L%C3%BCcking) and colleagues noted in 2017: "Whether the type species is actually lichenized is questionable; the genus is certainly heterogeneous".[9]

## Description

Key distinguishing features of genus *Asteroporum* include:[1]

- tiny fruit bodies (perithecia) measuring just 0.1 mm wide
- distinctive star-shaped opening that splits into 3–4 lobes
- [hyaline](/source/Hyaline) (translucent) spores that are divided by cross-walls ([septa](/source/Septum))
- simple, sparse internal threads ([paraphyses](/source/Paraphyses))
- structure similar to *[Mycoporum](/source/Mycoporum)* but with fewer spore-producing chambers

## Species

- *[Asteroporum deformatum](/source/Asteroporum_deformatum)* [10]
- *[Asteroporum minimum](/source/Asteroporum_minimum)*
- *[Asteroporum orbiculinum](/source/Asteroporum_orbiculinum)* [2]
- *[Asteroporum parasiticum](/source/Asteroporum_parasiticum)* [2]
- *[Asteroporum perminimum](/source/Asteroporum_perminimum)*
- *[Asteroporum punctuliforme](/source/Asteroporum_punctuliforme)* [2]

The [taxon](/source/Taxon) *Asteroporum rimale* was determined to be a [synonym](/source/Synonym_(taxonomy)) of *[Arthonia banksiae](/source/Arthonia_banksiae)*.[3]

## See also

- [List of Dothideomycetes taxa incertae sedis](/source/List_of_Dothideomycetes_taxa_incertae_sedis)

## References

1. Müller, J. (1884). ["Lichens de Palestine"](https://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/viewer/11195/?offset=#page=16&viewer=picture&o=bookmark&n=0&q=) [Lichens of Palestine] (in Latin). *Revue Mycologique Toulouse*. **6** (21): 12–15.

1. Zahlbrucker, A. (1928). "Lichenes. B. Spezieller Teil". *Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien* (in German). Vol. 8. 2nd ed. Engler, A. & Prantl, K. (eds.). Leipzig: W. Engelmann. pp. 61–270.

1. Kantvilas, Gintaras & Stajsic, Val (2011). "*Arthonia banksiae* (lichenised Ascomycota) and its synonyms". *Meulleria*. **29** (1): 27–32.

1. Lumbsch, H. Thorsten & Huhndorf, Sabine M. (2010). "Myconet Volume 14. Part One. Outline of Ascomycota—2009. Part Two. Notes on Ascomycete Systematics. Nos. 4751–5113". *Fieldiana Life and Earth Sciences*. **1**: 1–64 [12]. [doi:10.3158/1557.1](https://doi.org/10.3158/1557.1)

1. Jaklitsch, Walter; Baral, Hans-Otto; Lücking, Robert; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten (2016). *Syllabus of Plant Families: Adolf Engler's Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien*. Vol. 1/2. 13 ed. Frey, Wolfgang (ed.). Berlin Stuttgart: Gebr. Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, Borntraeger Science Publishers. p. 45. ISBN 978-3-443-01089-8. [OCLC 429208213](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/429208213)

1. Lücking, Robert; Hodkinson, Brendan P.; Leavitt, Steven D. (2017). "The 2016 classification of lichenized fungi in the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota–Approaching one thousand genera". *The Bryologist*. **119** (4): 361–416 [399]. [doi:10.1639/0007-2745-119.4.361](https://doi.org/10.1639/0007-2745-119.4.361). [JSTOR 44250015](https://www.jstor.org/stable/44250015)

1. Hyde, K.D.; Noorabadi, M.T.; Thiyagaraja, V.; He, M.Q.; Johnston, P.R.; Wijesinghe, S.N. et al. (2024). ["The 2024 Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385939154). *Mycosphere*. **15** (1): 5146–6239 [5232]. [doi:10.5943/mycosphere/15/1/25](https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/15/1/25). [hdl:1854/LU-8660838](https://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8660838)

1. Lücking, Robert; Hodkinson, Brendan P.; Leavitt, Steven D. (2017). "Corrections and amendments to the 2016 classification of lichenized fungi in the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota". *The Bryologist*. **120** (1): 58–69 [60]. [doi:10.1639/0007-2745-120.1.058](https://doi.org/10.1639/0007-2745-120.1.058)

1. Zahlbrucker, A. (1928). "Neue und ungenügend beschriebene javanische Flechten" [New and inadequately described Javanese lichens]. *Annales de Cryptogamie Exotique*. **1**: 116.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Asteroporum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroporum) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroporum?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.