About Asterella palmeri (Austin) Underw.
Asterella palmeri, commonly called Palmer's asterella, is a liverwort species native to southwestern North America, growing between approximately 30° and 40° north latitude. Its known distribution extends as far north as Redding in the U.S. state of California, as far south as Punta Baja in the Mexican state of Baja California, and also includes the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of New Mexico. California bryologists William T. Doyle and Raymond E. Stotler report that Palmer's asterella is most often found near chaparral, conifers, or in oak woodland. It grows on exposed to lightly shaded soil that stays dry through the summer, and is usually located on gentle to steep slopes. This liverwort typically occurs below 950 metres (3,120 ft) in elevation, but can grow up to 1,250 metres (4,100 ft) above sea level in the southern Sierra Nevada. The holotype specimen of this species was collected by Dr. Edward Palmer on Guadalupe Island, off Mexico's Pacific coast, in 1875. The geographic range of A. palmeri partially overlaps with the range of Asterella californica. Morphologically, A. palmeri is most similar to A. saccata, A. muscicola, and the East Asian species A. grollei.
