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Charales
 
 
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Charales is an order of pondweeds, freshwater algae
Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds....
 in the division Charophyta
Charophyta

The Charophyta are a division of green algae, including the closest relatives of the embryophyte plants. In some groups, such as conjugating green algae, flagellate cells do not occur....
. They are green plants believed to be the closest relatives of the green land plants. Linnaeus established the genus (Chara) in 1753.

Charales, have large, macroscopic, thalli growing up to 120cm long, they are branched, multicellular, and use chlorophyll
Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from Greek language: ?????? and f????? ....
 to photosynthesize. They grow in fresh water
Fresh Water

Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve....
. They may be called stoneworts, because the plants can become encrusted in lime (calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate

Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CalciumCarbonOxygen3. It is a common substance found as Rock in all parts of the world, and is the main component of seashells, snails, and eggshells....
) after some time.






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Encyclopedia


Charales is an order of pondweeds, freshwater algae
Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds....
 in the division Charophyta
Charophyta

The Charophyta are a division of green algae, including the closest relatives of the embryophyte plants. In some groups, such as conjugating green algae, flagellate cells do not occur....
. They are green plants believed to be the closest relatives of the green land plants. Linnaeus established the genus (Chara) in 1753.

Description

The Charales, have large, macroscopic, thalli growing up to 120cm long, they are branched, multicellular, and use chlorophyll
Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from Greek language: ?????? and f????? ....
 to photosynthesize. They grow in fresh water
Fresh Water

Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve....
. They may be called stoneworts, because the plants can become encrusted in lime (calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate

Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CalciumCarbonOxygen3. It is a common substance found as Rock in all parts of the world, and is the main component of seashells, snails, and eggshells....
) after some time. The "stem" is actually a central stalk consisting of giant, multinucleated cells
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
. They are unique in having a whorl of small branchlets at each node in the stipe
Stipe (botany)

In botany, a stipe is a stalk that supports some other structure. The precise meaning is different depending on which taxonomic group is being described....
, this gives them a superficial resemblance to the genus Equisetum. In these whorls it is possible to see the phenomenon of cytoplasmic streaming
Cytoplasmic streaming

Cytoplasmic streaming is the flowing of cytoplasm in eukaryotic cells. This occurs in both plant and animal cells. It creates cytoplasmic reorganization during cell reproduction....
. In fact the streaming in Chara is the fastest recorded of any cell. Cytoplasmic streaming is caused by the microfilaments found inside the cell, as proven by the use of cytochalasin B to stop streaming.

There are about 400 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 world-wide, with 33 in Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 and Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
 according to Groves and Bullock-Webster), however (Stewart and Church (1992) reduce this to 21.

Species


British Isles

Ref: Stewart & Church (1992).
  • Chara
    Chara

    Chara may refer to:a person* Chara , a town in east Russia, site of Chara AirportAstronomy* CHARA array, a telescope* Beta Canum Venaticorum, a star...
     baltica     Bruz.
  • Chara canescens Desv. & Lois.
  • Chara connivens Salzm. ex A.Braun
  • Chara curta Nolta wx Kütz. (=C.aspera var. curta)
  • Chara denudata (A.Braun) R.D.Wood
  • Chara fragifera Durieu
  • Chara intermedia Braun (=C. papillosa Kütz. and C. contraria x hispida)
  • Chara mucosa J.Groves & Bullock-Webster
  • Chara rudis (A.Braun) Leonh.
  • Chara tomentosa L.
  • Lamprothamnium papulosum (Wallr.) J.Groves
  • Nitella capillaris (Krocker) J.Groves & Bullock-Webster
  • Nitella gracilis (Smith) Agardh
  • Nitella hyalina (DC.)Agardh
  • Nitella mucronata (A.Braun)Miquel
  • Nitella spanioclema J.Groves & Bullock-Webster (Nitella flexilis var. spanioclema (J.Groves & Bullock-Webster)
  • Nitella tenuissima (Desv.) Kütz.
  • Nitellopsis obtusa (Desv.) J.Groves
  • Topella intricata (Trent. ex Roth) Leonh.
  • Tolypella nidifica (O.F.Müll.) Leonh. (= Tolypella nidifica var. nidifica)
  • Tolypella prolifera (Ziz. ex A.Braun) Leonh.


Other regions

  • Family Chaetosphaeridiaceae
    • Chaetosphaeridium globosum
      Chaetosphaeridium globosum

      Chaetosphaeridium globosum is a one-celled algae which is thought to represent an ancient lineage of the green plants. This organism exists in a Filamentation form with one flagella per Cell ....
       (Nordst.) Klebahn, 1893
    • Chaetosphaeridium ovalis G. M. Smith, 1916
    • Chaetosphaeridium pringsheimii Klebahn, 1892
    • Conochaete comosa Klebahn, 1893
    • Diplochaete solitaria Collins, 1901


Distribution


Ireland

  • Co. Antrim
    • C.aspera Deth. ex Willd. var. aspera
    • C. globularis Thuill. var. globularis
    • C. vulgaris var. papillata Wallr. ex A. Braun
    • C. globularis var. virgata (Kützing) R.D.Wood
    • C. vulgaris L. var. vulgaris
    • C. vulgaris L. var. contraria (A.Braun ex Kützing) J.A. Moore
    • C. vulgaris var. longibracteata (Kützing) J. Groves & Bullock-Webster
    • C. vulgaris var. papillata Wallr. ex A. Braun
    • Nitella flexilis (L.) var. flexilis
    • Nitella translucens (Pers.) C.A. Ag.
    • Tolypella nidifica (O. Mill.) Leonh. var. glomerata (Desv.) R.D.Wood
  • Co. Down
    • C. aspera Deth. ex Willd. var. aspera
    • C. aspera var. curta (Nolte ex Kützing) Braun ex Leonh.
    • C. globularis Thuill. var. globularis
    • C. vulgaris var. papillata Wallr. ex A. Braun
    • C. globularis var. virgata (Kützing) R.D.Wood
    • C. globularis var. annulata (Lilleblad) J.A.Moore
    • C. hispida L.
    • C. hispida var. hispida
    • C. hispida var. major (Hartm.) R.D. Wood
    • C. hispida var. rudis A. Braun
    • C. pedunculata Kützing
    • C. vulgaris L. var. vulgaris
    • C. vulgaris L. var. contraria (A.Braun ex Kützing) J.A. Moore
    • C. vulgaris var. longibracteata (Kützing) J. Groves & Bullock-Webster
    • C. vulgaris var. papillata Wallr. ex A. Braun
    • Nitella flexilis (L.) var. flexilis
    • Nitella translucens (Pers) C.A. Ag.
    • Tolypella nidifica (O. Mill.) Leonh. var. glomerata (Desv.) R.D.Wood
  • Co. Londonderry
    • C.aspera Deth. ex Willd. var. aspera
    • C. vulgaris var. papillata Wallr. ex A. Braun
    • C. globularis Thuill. var. globularis
    • C. globularis var. virgata (Kützing) R.D.Wood
    • C. hispida L.
    • C. hispida var. hispida
    • C. vulgaris L. var. vulgaris
    • C. vulgaris L. var. contraria (A.Braun ex Kützing) J.A. Moore
    • C. vulgaris var. papillata Wallr. ex A. Braun
    • Nitella flexilis (L.) var. flexilis
    • Nitella translucens (Pers) C.A. Ag.
    • Tolypella nidifica (O. Mill.) Leonh. var. glomerata (Desv.) R.D.Wood
  • Co. Mayo.Recent records have been published from Clare Island.
    • C. virgata Kützing
    • N. flexilis (Linnaeus) C.Agardh
    • N. translucens (Persoon) C.Agardh


Ecology

The Characeae because of the are aquatic though some can survive in brackish or maritime habitats. They are to be found usually in still, clear, non-flowing, water attached by rhizoids. They can be pioneer colonizers or ephemerals. They are usually found in low to medium nutrient-rich water and tend to disappear due to eutrophication.

Life history

The antheridia and oogonia are protected by a layer of sterile cells
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 when mature; the oogonium is oblong in shape and consists of a single egg, while the spherical antheridium is packed with threadlike cells that produce spermatia. As a result, the Charales have the most complex structure of all green algae, if indeed they should be so labelled.

The possible ancestors of the land plants are also known as brittleworts or skunkweed. These curious labels arise from the fragility of their lime-encrusted stems, and from the foul odor these produce when stepped on.

Many botanists
Botany

Botany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the Scientific method of plant life and development....
 propose that the stoneworts and their relatives be placed in a phylum
Phylum

A phylum "Phylum" is adopted from the Greek phylai, the clan-based voting groups in Greek city-states. is a taxonomic rank below Kingdom and above Class ....
, division, sub-kingdom, or even kingdom by themselves, often named Charophyta
Charophyta

The Charophyta are a division of green algae, including the closest relatives of the embryophyte plants. In some groups, such as conjugating green algae, flagellate cells do not occur....
. Their classification by taxonomists
Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek language ', taxis and ', nomos .Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units known as taxa , or kinds of things that are arranged frequently in a hierarchical structure....
 is currently undergoing much cladistic
Cladistics

Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of species based on evolutionary ancestry. Cladistics is distinguished from other taxonomic systems because it focuses on evolution rather than similarities between species, and because it places heavy emphasis on objective, quantitative analysis....
 scrutiny. Further DNA
DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetics instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses....
 and RNA
RNA

Ribonucleic acid is a type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nucleobase, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate....
 analysis may prove the charophytes to be a crucial evolutionary link
Missing Link

The term Missing link, or combination using MISSING LINK, as major text body, or entity name, may refer to:*A transitional fossil, especially one connected with human evolution...
 in the phylogenetic tree
Phylogenetic tree

A phylogenetic tree or evolutionary tree is a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities that are believed to have a common descent....
 of life, the critical developmental step from the algae
Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds....
 toward the non-vascular
Bryophyte

Bryophytes are all embryophytes that are non-vascular plant: they have tissues and enclosed reproductive systems, but they lack vascular tissue that circulates liquids....
 and then vascular
Vascular plant

Vascular plants are those plants that have lignin tissue for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. Vascular plants include the ferns, clubmosses, flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms....
 land plants.

Further reading

  • Bryant, J. The stoneworts (Chlorophyta, Charales). In Guiry, M.D., John, D.M., Rindi, F. and McCarthy, T.K. 2007. New Survey of Clare Island. Royal Irish Academy. ISBN-13:978--904890-31-7.
  • Lloyd, James. 2007. "Cytoskeletal Structures Responsible for Cytoplasmic Streaming in Chara." St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Accordance with Dr. Donald Ott of The University of Akron. (Science Inquiry)
  • Morton, O. 1992. Charophyta. pp.91 - 94 in Hackney, P. (Ed) 1992 Stewart and Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland. Third edition. Institute of Irish Studies. The Queen's University of Belfast.
  • Schaible, R. and Schubert, H. 2008. The ccurrence of sexual Chara canesces populations (Charophyceae) is not related to ecophysiological potentials with respect to salinity and irradiance. Eur. J. Phycol. 43: 309 - 316.


Further links