Brown Cobblestone Lichen vs Common Stonewort

Acarospora fuscata compared with Chara vulgaris

Key Differences

• Brown Cobblestone Lichen is Least Concern while Common Stonewort is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Cobblestone Lichen	Common Stonewort
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Charophyta (Charophyta)
Class	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)	Charophyceae (Charophyceae)
Order	Acarosporales (Acarosporales)	Charales (Charales)
Family	Acarosporaceae	Characeae
Genus	Acarospora	Chara
Species	Acarospora fuscata	Chara vulgaris

Conservation Status

Brown Cobblestone Lichen

LC — Least Concern

Common Stonewort

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Cobblestone Lichen	Common Stonewort
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown Cobblestone Lichen

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and United States.

Common Stonewort

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Brown Cobblestone Lichen

The Brown Cobblestone Lichen (Acarospora fuscata) is a species in the genus Acarospora. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Common Stonewort

<em>Chara vulgaris</em>, the common stonewort, is a species of charophyte green alga in the family Characeae, order Charales. It typically grows submerged in freshwater habitats including ponds, lakes, ditches, and slow-moving streams, often forming dense mats on the substrate. The species has a broad geographic distribution spanning Asia, Europe, and the Americas, tolerating a range of water conditions from clear to moderately turbid. <em>Chara vulgaris</em> is notable for its heavily calcified, whorled structure that gives stoneworts their characteristic encrusted appearance and makes them valuable as paleoclimate indicators in sediment records. As a primary producer, it contributes to aquatic food webs and provides habitat for invertebrates and juvenile fish. Biological traits such as individual lifespan, precise growth rates, and specific consumer relationships remain poorly documented in the literature. Despite its wide range, <em>Chara vulgaris</em> is assessed as Endangered by the IUCN, reflecting significant population declines attributed to freshwater pollution, eutrophication, and habitat degradation across much of its range. Targeted conservation of clean, oligotrophic water bodies is essential for its persistence.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇺🇸 United States