{{Short description|Genus of lichens}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}} {{Use Oxford spelling|date=October 2025}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Graphidaceae (10.3897-mycokeys.21.11986) Figure 4D.jpg | image_caption = ''[[Astrochapsa mirabilis]]'' | taxon = Astrochapsa | authority = Parnmen, [[Robert Lücking|Lücking]] & [[Lumbsch]] (2012) | type_species = ''[[Astrochapsa astroidea]]'' | type_species_authority = ([[Berk.]] & [[Christopher Edmund Broome|Broome]]) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012) | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text }}
'''''Astrochapsa''''' is a [[genus]] of [[lichen]]-forming [[fungi]] in the subfamily Graphidoideae of the family [[Graphidaceae]]. It has about 30 species. The genus was [[circumscription (taxonomy)|circumscribed]] in 2012, with ''[[Astrochapsa astroidea]]'' assigned as the [[type species]]. It was split from ''[[Chapsa]]'' because members of this genus usually have a densely skinned [[thallus]], [[apothecium|apothecial]] rims that tend to curve back, and spores that are mostly subdistoseptate (septa slightly thickened; cell spaces angular) and non-[[amyloid (mycology)|amyloid]].
==Taxonomy==
''Astrochapsa'' was established in 2012 by Sittiporn Parnmen, [[Robert Lücking]], and [[H. Thorsten Lumbsch]] during a generic-level reclassification of the thelotremoid graphid lichens based on DNA evidence. Their analyses showed that several species then placed in ''[[Chapsa]]'' formed a coherent, separate [[lineage (evolution)|lineage]]; to reflect that evolutionary split, they erected ''Astrochapsa'' and made a series of [[new combination]]s into the genus. The [[type species]] was set as ''[[Astrochapsa astroidea]]''.<ref name="Parnmen et al. 2012"/>
In practical terms, the authors narrowed the concept of Chapsa (''Chapsa sensu stricto'') and diagnosed ''Astrochapsa'' by a suite of {{lichengloss|characters}} that tend to occur together in this [[clade]]. These include a bark crust ([[thallus]]) that is often more thickened and with a developed outer skin (a dense {{lichengloss|cortex}}), fruiting {{lichengloss|discs}} whose rim is commonly turned slightly outward (a {{lichengloss|recurved}} margin), and colourless spores that show a faint thickening at the internal walls ("subdistoseptate") and do not turn blue with iodine (non-[[amyloid (mycology)|amyloid]]).<ref name="Parnmen et al. 2012"/>
Parnmen and colleagues also provided a set of formal transfers from ''Chapsa'' and related genera into ''Astrochapsa'', anchoring the name in current practice and stabilising usage across subsequent taxonomic work on Graphidaceae.<ref name="Parnmen et al. 2012"/>
==Description==
''Astrochapsa'' species form a crust on bark (the thallus) that is usually well "skinned" with a dense outer layer (a {{lichengloss|cortex}}), rather than appearing loose or without a cortex. Their [[fruiting bodies]] ([[apothecia]]) break through the bark surface and are round to irregular; the inner disc is exposed while the rim is often lobed and commonly bends back slightly (recurved). The rim tissue (the {{lichengloss|excipulum}}) is typically brown, and the disc itself can be pale or pigmented. Chemically, many species have no detectable [[lichen substance]]s, though [[stictic acid]] derivatives are frequent in some; this is consistent with the mix of "no substances" versus "stictic acid and relatives" reported for the genus.<ref name="Parnmen et al. 2012"/>
Under the microscope, the spores are colourless (occasionally pale brown), with one or more cross-walls, and they are elongated from spindle-shaped to more cylindrical. The septa between the spore cells are slightly thickened and the cell cavities look angular—features described as "subdistoseptate". A standard iodine test on the spore wall is negative (I–), meaning the wall does not turn blue and so is considered non-amyloid. Taken together with a mostly densely corticate bark crust and apothecia with an often recurved margin and usually brown rim, these characters provide a practical diagnosis of the genus.<ref name="Parnmen et al. 2012"/>
==Habitat and distribution==
''Astrochapsa'' species are bark-dwelling [[crustose lichen]]s of warm, humid forests. They are most often found on the trunks and branches of living trees in lowland to [[montane]] tropical settings, where the [[canopy (botany)|canopy]] provides steady moisture and subdued light—conditions typical for the thelotremoid graphids that this genus belongs to.<ref name="Parnmen et al. 2012"/>
Geographically, the genus is chiefly tropical and subtropical, with records from the [[Neotropics]] (including the Caribbean), tropical Africa, and parts of Asia–Pacific. For example, ''A. martinicensis'' was described from [[Martinique]] in the [[Lesser Antilles]], while ''A. fusca'' is known from tropical [[West Africa]]; other species treated in the 2012 reclassification reflect similarly broad, [[pantropical]] sampling. Together these reports indicate a primarily bark-inhabiting genus spread across humid tropical regions rather than confined to a single continent.<ref name="Parnmen et al. 2012"/>
==Species== {{As of|2025|October}}, [[Species Fungorum]] (in the [[Catalogue of Life]]) accepts 29 species of ''Astrochapsa'':<ref name="CoL_34L4"/> *''[[Astrochapsa albella]]'' {{au|Sipman (2014)}}<ref name="Sipman 2014"/> *''[[Astrochapsa alstrupii]]'' {{au|(Frisch) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa amazonica]]'' {{au|(Kalb) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa astroidea]]'' {{au|(Berk. & Broome) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa calathiformis]]'' {{au|(Vain.) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa columnaris]]'' {{au|Sipman (2014)}}<ref name="Sipman 2014"/> *''[[Astrochapsa elongata]]'' {{au|Poengs. & Lumbsch (2019)}}<ref name="Poengsungnoen et al. 2019"/> *''[[Astrochapsa fusca]]'' {{au|Lücking (2014)}}<ref name="Lücking 2014"/> *''[[Astrochapsa graphidioides]]'' {{au|(Kalb) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa kalbii]]'' {{au|Poengs., Lücking & Lumbsch (2014)}}<ref name="Poengsungnoen et al. 2014"/> *''[[Astrochapsa lassae]]'' {{au|(Mangold) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa lobata]]'' {{au|Lücking (2015)}}<ref name="Lücking 2015"/> *''[[Astrochapsa magnifica]]'' {{au|(Berk. & Broome) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa martinicensis]]'' {{au|Ertz & Borgato (2018)}}<ref name="Borgato & Ertz 2018"/> *''[[Astrochapsa mastersonii]]'' {{au|(Rivas Plata, Lumbsch & Lücking) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa megaphlyctidioides]]'' {{au|(Mangold) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa meridensis]]'' {{au|(Kalb & Frisch) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa mirabilis]]'' {{au|(Zahlbr.) Lücking & S.Joshi (2018)}}<ref name="Joshi et al. 2018"/> *''[[Astrochapsa platycarpella]]'' {{au|(Vain.) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa pseudophlyctis]]'' {{au|(Nyl.) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa pulvereodiscus]]'' {{au|(Hale) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa recurva]]'' {{au|(G.Salisb.) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa sipmanii]]'' {{au|Weerakoon & Lücking (2015)}}<ref name="Weerakoon et al. 2015"/> *''[[Astrochapsa stellata]]'' {{au|(Hale) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa submuralis]]'' {{au|E.L.Lima, Lücking & M.Cáceres (2016)}}<ref name="Lima et al. 2016"/> – Brazil *''[[Astrochapsa verruculosa]]'' {{au|Papong, Lücking & Parnmen (2015)}}<ref name="Papong et al. 2014"/> *''[[Astrochapsa waasii]]'' {{au|(Hale) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa wolseleyana]]'' {{au|(Weerakoon, Lumbsch & Lücking) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}} *''[[Astrochapsa zahlbruckneri]]'' {{au|(Redinger) Parnmen, Lücking & Lumbsch (2012)}}
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=
<ref name="Borgato & Ertz 2018">{{cite journal |last1=Borgato |first1=Luca |last2=Ertz |first2=Damien |title=A new species of ''Astrochapsa'' (Graphidaceae) from Martinique, with a world-wide key to the species |journal=Phytotaxa |volume=371 |issue=2 |year=2018 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.371.2.4 |pages=102–110 |bibcode=2018Phytx.371..102B }}</ref>
<ref name="CoL_34L4">{{Catalogue of Life |id=34L4 |title=''Astrochapsa'' |access-date=15 October 2025}}</ref>
<ref name="Joshi et al. 2018">{{cite journal |last1=Joshi |first1=Santosh |last2=Upreti |first2=Dalip K. |last3=Divakar |first3=Pradeep K. |last4=Lumbsch |first4=H. Thorsten |last5=Lücking |first5=Robert |title=A re-evaluation of thelotremoid Graphidaceae (lichenized Ascomycota: Ostropales) in India |journal=The Lichenologist |volume=50 |issue=6 |year=2018 |doi=10.1017/S0024282918000439 |pages=627–678 |bibcode=2018ThLic..50..627J }}</ref>
<ref name="Lima et al. 2016">{{cite journal |last1=Lima |first1=Edvaneide Leandro De |last2=Lücking |first2=Robert |last3=Cáceres |first3=Marcela Eugenia Da Silva |title=Three new species of Graphidaceae (Ostropales, Ascomycota) from Atlantic Forest in Northeast Brazil |journal=Phytotaxa |volume=278 |issue=2 |year=2016 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.278.2.6 |pages=163–170 |bibcode=2016Phytx.278..163L }}</ref>
<ref name="Lücking 2014">{{cite journal |last=Lücking |first=Robert |year=2014 |title=Three new species of thelotremoid Graphidaceae (lichenized Ascomycota: Ostropales) from tropical Africa |journal=Phytotaxa |volume=189 |issue=1 |pages=176–179 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.189.1.12}}</ref>
<ref name="Lücking 2015">{{cite journal |last=Lücking |first=R. |year=2015 |title=Thelotremoid Graphidaceae from the NYBG herbarium: New species, range extensions, and a forgotten lichen |journal=Opuscula Philolichenum |volume=14 |pages=1–57 [3] |doi=10.5962/p.386075 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name="Papong et al. 2014">{{cite journal |last1=Papong |first1=Khwanruan Butsatorn |last2=Lücking |first2=Robert |last3=Kraichak |first3=Ekaphan |last4=Parnmen |first4=Sittiporn |last5=Von Konrat |first5=Matt |last6=Lumbsch |first6=H. Thorsten |year=2014 |title=Twenty-three new species in the lichen family Graphidaceae from New Caledonia (Ostropales, Ascomycota) |journal=Phytotaxa |volume=189 |issue=1 |pages=204–231 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.189.1.15 |bibcode=2014Phytx.189..204P }}</ref>
<ref name="Parnmen et al. 2012">{{cite journal |last1=Parnmen |first1=Sittiporn |last2=Lücking |first2=Robert |last3=Lumbsch |first3=H. Thorsten |year=2012 |title=Phylogenetic classification at generic level in the absence of distinct phylogenetic patterns of phenotypical variation: a case study in Graphidaceae (Ascomycota) |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=7 |issue=12 |article-number=e51392 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0051392 |pmid=23251515 |pmc=3520900 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...751392P |doi-access=free}}</ref>
<ref name="Poengsungnoen et al. 2019">{{cite journal |last1=Poengsungnoen |first1=Vasun |last2=Buaruang |first2=Kawinnat |last3=Vongshewarat |first3=Kajonsak |last4=Sangvichien |first4=Ek |last5=Boonpragob |first5=Kansri |last6=Mongkolsuk |first6=Pachara |last7=Lumbsch |first7=H. Thorsten |title=Three new crustose lichens from Thailand |journal=The Bryologist |volume=122 |issue=3 |year=2019 |doi=10.1639/0007-2745-122.3.451 |pages=451–456}}</ref>
<ref name="Poengsungnoen et al. 2014">{{cite journal |last1=Poengsungnoen |first1=Vasun |last2=Manoch |first2=Leka |last3=Mongkolsuk |first3=Pachara |last4=Boonpragob |first4=Kansri |last5=Parnmen |first5=Sittiporn |last6=LüCking |first6=Robert |last7=Tehler |first7=Anders |last8=Lumbsch |first8=H. Thorsten |title=Phylogenetic analysis reveals two morphologically unique new species in the genera ''Astrochapsa'' and ''Nitidochapsa'' (lichenized Ascomycota: Graphidaceae) |journal=Phytotaxa |volume=189 |issue=1 |year=2014 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.189.1.19 |page=268 |bibcode=2014Phytx.189..268P |url=https://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.189.1.19 |access-date=15 October 2025|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
<ref name="Sipman 2014">{{cite journal |last1=Sipman |first1=Harrie J.M. |year=2014 |title=New species of Graphidaceae from the Neotropics and Southeast Asia |journal=Phytotaxa |volume=189 |issue=1 |pages=289–311 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.189.1.21 |bibcode=2014Phytx.189..289S |doi-access=free}}</ref>
<ref name="Weerakoon et al. 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Weerakoon |first1=Gothamie |last2=Ngo |first2=Kang Min |last3=Lum |first3=Shawn |last4=Lumbsch |first4=H. Thorsten |last5=Lücking |first5=Robert |title=On time or fashionably late for lichen discoveries in Singapore? Seven new species and nineteen new records of Graphidaceae from the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, a highly urbanized tropical environment in South-East Asia |journal=The Lichenologist |volume=47 |issue=3 |year=2015 |doi=10.1017/S0024282915000043 |pages=157–166 |bibcode=2015ThLic..47..157W }}</ref>
}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q22107946}}
[[Category:Graphidaceae]] [[Category:Graphidales genera]] [[Category:Lichen genera]] [[Category:Taxa described in 2012]] [[Category:Taxa named by Helge Thorsten Lumbsch]] [[Category:Taxa named by Robert Lücking]] [[Category:Taxa named by Sittiporn Parnmen]]