Chara spp. - (image 1 of 5)
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Protista
Phyllum: Chlorophyta (Green Algae)
Class: Charophyceae (Charophytes)
Order: Charales
Family: Characeae
Habitat
Fresh and occasionally brackish water. Often found in shallow water in fens.
Associates
Distribution
Widespread
Morphology
Submerged, multicellular algae with apical growth. Thallus (algal body) differentiated into nodal and internodal regions, often with heavily calcified cell walls. The tissue organization in the nodal regions is similar to the parenchyma of plants. Sperm flagellated, produced in multicellular antheridia. Fertilization takes place in the female gametangia called an oogonium.
Notes
Wetland indicator: Obligate
Although not vascular plants or even a plants at all, the Stoneworts (Chara spp.) could easily be confused for a number of submerged aquatic plant species. Like plants, the cells of Stoneworts contain vacuoles and are surrounded by cell walls containing cellulose. Sometimes called muskgrass because they give off a musky or skunk-like odor.
References
Raven, P.H., R.F. Evert and S.E. Eichhorn. 2003. Biology of Plants, Sixth Edition.
W. H. Freeman and Company / Worth Publishers, New York, NY.
|
Michael Hough © 2004 |